Media Availability With Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Following Their Meeting With Judge Sotomayor
Press Conference
Media Availability With Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Following Their Meeting With Judge Sotomayor
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SEN. SCHUMER: Okay. Well, we had a very, very good lunch with a New Yorker we are so proud of, and that is Sonia Sotomayor.
Let me just say this. She's impressive when you read about her history and her credentials; she's even more impressive when you sit down and talk to her face to face. She is somebody who presents a very smart, thoughtful and powerful image in a quiet way. And I'm convinced that she -- as she talks to my colleagues, both Democrat and Republican, is going to so impress them. She's -- as I said, she's even more impressive in person than she is on paper, and she is really impressive on paper.
So this meeting was very gratifying to us because she will make such a fine Supreme Court justice in every way. I'm proud that she's a New Yorker. I'm proud that she's an American. And I'm proud that the president nominated her.
SEN. GILLIBRAND: One of the most significant things from our lunch is how much I appreciate now her focus, on her long judicial career, on the rule of law. And she not only understands it as a guiding principle, but she's someone who truly follows it. And I have every confidence that she will be an extraordinary Supreme Court justice.
SEN. SCHUMER: Ready for some questions. Can't take too many, since we have to get -- have other appointments. Questions?
Q Senator, will you be accompanying her to any of her visits with other senators?
SEN. SCHUMER: You know --
Q What's your role in -- (off mike)?
SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah, well, it's clear that she doesn't need anybody to accompany her. She makes such a strong impression. Obviously, I'll do whatever asked.
I'm going to, first and foremost, inform my colleagues of her great reputation in New York, in the bar, on the bench, and just, you know, as a person. Second, I'll be giving her advice in any way that she asks, and have begun to do that already. And third, I will introduce her to some of my colleagues.
Q Did you discuss at all this comment, this "Latina" comment that's being much --
SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah.
Q -- much discussed? And also, any concerns -- did she assuage any concerns that she engages in identity politics?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, first, in answer to your second question, when a nominee of her background 80 percent of the time decides that no discrimination occurred when people have brought cases of discrimination, it just says it all, in terms of rule of law.
In terms of her comment, we asked her about it, and she said, "Read just three sentences later, where I said -- where I said that nine white males changed America with Brown v. Board of Education."
It is so obvious in what she says, and in her 17-year record as a judge, that she puts rule of law first in every way, that I don't think this will be of any concern at all.
SEN. GILLIBRAND: I have to agree with you.
What's so impressive about her is the depth of her judicial experience, having had 17 years as a judge, and the breadth of the record that we can now look at to see how did she perform as a judge, what was the kinds of decisions that she wrote on and what was the kind of analysis she put in those decisions. It really does inform us about what kind of judge she will be.
And I agree entirely with Senator Schumer that the rule of law has informed all of her decisions. And I have every confidence that that's the kind of Supreme Court justice she will be as well.
SEN. SCHUMER: On just about every question --
SEN. GILLIBRAND: On every issue.
SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah, on every question we asked, including the question about Latina woman, she just knocked it out of the park. And I think, as my colleagues hear her answers directly -- and she'll see over half of them this week -- it's going to allay any of their concerns.
Q What was your biggest question, Senator?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, we wanted to talk a little bit about New York --
SEN. GILLIBRAND: (Laughs.)
SEN. SCHUMER: -- the Bronx, Brooklyn. She's a bicycle rider. I'm a bicycle rider. We talked a little bit about our favorite routes.
She's a very human person of great legal mind, and I think that's the right person to be on the Supreme Court.
Q Any indication on when hearings will begin?
SEN. SCHUMER: No, you'll have to ask Chairman Leahy that. He's in charge of when hearings begin.
Okay? Thank you --
Q Senator, one more question?
SEN. SCHUMER: Last one.
Q Did you give her any advice on what to do during the hearing when it comes up?
SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah.
Q Did you suggest how she should --
SEN. SCHUMER: I told her the most important thing is to be yourself, because she's such a powerful presence and such a powerful person. It's not just her history, her amazing 17-year legal record; but when you meet her person-to-person, sitting across a table a couple of inches apart, her personality, you know, it's shining, it's strong, comes through. It's great.
SEN. GILLIBRAND: And my only advice to her was to let people get to know her, to let people get to know what kind of judge she's been, let them get to know her experience, and so they can understand what kind of justice she will be. And I think she intends to do that, and I look forward to the next series of conversations that we're going to have with her.
SEN. SCHUMER: Thanks, everybody.
END.
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