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[Pages S1640-S1641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Nomination of Allison Jones Rushing
Mr. President, we have three judges before us on the floor of the
Senate this week. It turns out that the filling of judicial vacancies
is the highest single priority of the Republican leadership in the
Senate.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, has gone to
extraordinary, precedent-breaking lengths to fill vacancies. Of course,
the most notorious example was when Senator McConnell, then in charge
of the Republican majority, announced that despite the death of Justice
Scalia and a vacancy on the highest court of the land, he would refuse
to fill that vacancy for almost 1 year because President Obama was in
office.
The man President Obama wanted to put in that position, Merrick
Garland from the D.C. Circuit Court, was widely respected by Democrats
and Republicans alike, but his qualifications meant nothing to Senator
McConnell. The end game, in his mind, was the chance that a Republican
President might be elected and fill that vacancy with a Republican
nominee.
Well, Senator McConnell's dream came true when Donald Trump was
elected President, and he turned around and nominated Justice Gorsuch,
who now serves on the Supreme Court, filling the Scalia vacancy. That
was the most extreme example that we have, in the history of the U.S.
Senate, of the defiance of tradition and precedent, a defiance by
Senator McConnell with one goal in mind: to make sure that the judicial
branch of our government became a political branch of our government,
to make sure that as many Republican conservatives, some with the most
extreme views, were appointed to the bench. That has been his goal, and
he pursues that goal to this day.
There are three nominations before us that amply demonstrate his
efforts. When Donald Trump became President, Senate Republicans stopped
their obstruction of judicial nominations and started moving
nominations through at a breakneck speed.
During the last 2 years, Republicans in the Senate bragged about
filling the courts with Trump nominees at record pace. The Republican
philosophy, when it comes to Trump judges, seems to be, in Senator
McConnell's words, ``plow right through'' no matter how questionable
the nominee's credentials or judgment.
There are three more confirmation votes scheduled this week. Let me
tell you about these nominees whom they want to put on the court.
Allison Jones Rushing is President Trump's nominee to fill a North
Carolina seat on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. For those who are
students of the Constitution, you know that the circuit court of
appeals is the highest court below the Supreme Court.
Allison Jones Rushing checks a lot of the standard Trump nominee
boxes. She is a member of the Federalist Society, an absolute
requirement if Trump is going to nominate you for a lifetime
appointment to the Federal bench, and--this is a recurring theme as
well--she clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
She is 36 years old. She has practiced law for 9 years. How many
cases has she tried to verdict or judgment? Four. Has she been the lead
attorney on any of those cases? No. She is not a member of the bar
association of the State of North Carolina, the State in which she
would sit if she is confirmed. That is the most scant, weakest legal
resume imaginable for someone who is seeking a lifetime appointment to
the second highest court of the land.
At our hearing--which, by the way, was held during a Senate recess
over the objection of committee Democrats; we weren't even in town when
her hearing was scheduled--Senator Kennedy of Louisiana, who is
becoming famous for this, started questioning her about her breadth of
legal experience.
Senator Kennedy is a real lawyer. On the Republican side, he has put
some of Trump's nominees on the spot by asking them some pretty tough
questions about legal procedure in a courtroom.
Senator Kennedy said: ``I think, to be a really good federal judge,
you've got to have some life experience.'' Ms. Rushing struggled to
describe how her life experience actually prepared her for this
lifetime appointment to the second highest Federal court.
Senator Kennedy made a valid point. The fact that a judicial nominee
meets all of the litmus tests of being a loyal Republican doesn't mean
the nominee has the experience or the legal ability to be a good
Federal judge. It is inconceivable to me that in the State of North
Carolina, they couldn't find a qualified and experienced conservative
Republican judge.
The Federal circuit courts are critically important. Since the vast
majority of cases don't reach the Supreme Court, the circuit courts are
often the last word. This is a position where experience matters, and,
unfortunately, Ms. Rushing doesn't have enough of it. I am going to
oppose her.
[[Page S1641]]
