Judicial Nominations

Floor Speech

JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS -- (Senate - June 05, 2008)

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, since the substitute amendment by Senator Boxer was just given to us at 11 o'clock in the morning, you could argue--almost with a straight face--that reading the proposal was a good idea, but, of course, that was not what it was about. It was somewhat similar to when Senator Reid, the now-majority leader, used 9 hours reading chapters from his book back in 2003. In a 9-hour filibuster over judicial nominations, on November 19, 2003, Democratic leader Harry Reid discoursed on the virtues of wooden matches and read chapters from his book about his hometown: ``Searchlight: The Camp That Didn't Fail.'' That was a 9-hour recitation from a book that our good friend the majority leader engaged in on the very subject of judicial confirmations.

Yesterday's tactic of slowing down the Senate obviously is not unique. It was not, however, about trying to confirm a few district court nominations which the majority begrudgingly agreed to last night around 12:00 or 12:30. Rather, it was about the importance of keeping one's word in this body, whether it be a commitment to meet the total number of circuit court confirmations that have occurred in prior Congresses--and we are familiar with what that commitment was; it was to do 17 during this Congress, which has been repeated time and time again; everybody knows what the commitment was--or a commitment to confirm a specific number of circuit court nominations by a specific time; and that was the commitment made back in May by my good friend the majority leader, that we would do three circuit court nominations before the Memorial Day recess. In fact, we did one. Keeping one's word in this body is important.

We are far behind the pace that is necessary for us to reach the goal the majority leader and I set for this Congress. If that weren't troubling enough, what we heard recently by the chairman of the Judiciary Committee are threats to shut down the confirmation process completely. Stop it already. Surely, that is not his plan. So be assured the Republican Conference will continue to make the point that judicial nominations need to be treated fairly and that commitments need to be kept, and we will use the tools available to the minority to do so until that proves to be the case. This is not over, I assure you.

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