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[Page S2351]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Confirmation of Patrick R. Wyrick
Mr. President, I want to spend a moment on the issue of judicial
nominees--specifically the President's nominee for the U.S. District
Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Mr. Patrick Wyrick.
Mr. Wyrick's record suggests he is little more than a rightwing
crusader in the war against the reproductive rights of women. In 2014,
he spearheaded an amicus in the Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.,
case, arguing that corporations' religious rights were violated by the
Affordable Care Act's requirement that employers' health plans cover
birth control. By a 5-to-4 margin, the Supreme Court agreed. Likewise,
while representing Oklahoma in Pruitt v. Nova Health Systems, Mr.
Wyrick defended a law mandating that women who seek abortions first
submit to having ultrasounds. Fortunately, the Oklahoma Supreme Court
struck down that law.
I could go on, but the bottom line is that Mr. Wyrick embodies
President Trump's pledge to only nominate judges who are committed to
rolling back reproductive rights even if they are seriously unqualified
for lifetime appointments.
Let's be honest about why the Republicans seek to confirm these
judicial nominations at record speed. After being punished at the polls
for their assault on affordable healthcare, they want our courts to do
their dirty work for them. How convenient it is that the Republicans
can confirm judges who have hostile records on healthcare even as they
distance themselves from the Trump administration's reckless decision
to declare the entire Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional,
including the law's protections for patients with preexisting
conditions, the tax credits that help families to afford premiums, the
expansion of Medicaid, and so much more.
I am tired of watching the majority stack our courts in favor of
wealthy special interests even as they know full well that Americans
overwhelmingly oppose their morally bankrupt agenda. Once again,
Americans oppose letting health insurance companies discriminate
against people with preexisting conditions. They oppose their plan to
end Medicaid as we know it and their trillion-dollar tax cuts for big
corporations. They oppose this President's assault on the rights of
consumers, workers, students, and women.
Democracy is supposed to be a battle of ideas, but when it comes to
healthcare or student loan debt or climate change, the Republican Party
does not have any. When you can't win on the merits, what do you do?
You tip the scales of justice in your favor. Well, I, for one, will not
stay silent. I will continue to speak out against unqualified nominees
like Patrick Wyrick, and I will continue to vote against judges whose
views are grossly out of step with the views of the vast majority of
Americans on everything from the environment to women's reproductive
rights to healthcare for all.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THUNE. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call
be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
