Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise in support of the nomination of Patricia Millett to serve on the D.C. Circuit, the second most important court in the nation. Ms. Millett, who is currently in private practice, is recognized as one of the leading appellate lawyers in the country. She has argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court and dozens more in other appellate courts.

Ms. Millett served in the Solicitor General's office under both Democratic and Republican presidents. Seven former Solicitors General including prominent Republicans Paul Clement, Ted Olson and Ken Starr--sent a letter in support of Ms. Millett saying she ``has a brilliant mind, a gift for clear, persuasive writing, and a genuine zeal for the rule of law. Equally important, she is unfailingly fair-minded.''

At her hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, no Senator questioned Ms. Millett's qualifications or fitness for the Federal bench. She is simply an outstanding nominee. Ms. Millett is also a proud product of Illinois. She grew up in Marine, a small town in the southern part of the state. Her mother was a nurse and her father was a history professor at Southern Illinois University--Edwardsville.

Ms. Millett graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. She clerked for 2 years for Judge Thomas Tang on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

She is part of a military family. Her husband Robert King served in the Navy and was deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Ms. Millett also comes highly recommended by distinguished members of the Illinois legal community.

I received a letter from Patrick Fitzgerald, the former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, expressing ``strong support'' for Ms. Millett's nomination and urging ``prompt consideration of her candidacy on the merits.''

I also received a letter from 28 prominent attorneys including former Illinois Governor James Thompson, a Republican, and current Illinois State Bar Association president Paula Holderman.

They expressed their strong support for Ms. Millett, saying that ``she embodies the evenhandedness, impartiality, and objectivity required for the federal judiciary, as evidenced by her more than 10 years of service in the Solicitor General's office in both the Clinton and Bush Administrations.''

The bottom line is that Ms. Millett is an outstanding nominee with broad support from across the ideological spectrum. There is no question that she is well-qualified to serve on the bench, and she will serve with distinction.

I urge my colleagues to support her nomination.

I yield the floor.

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