[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 34 (Monday, February 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1439-S1441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Nomination of Neil Gorsuch

  Madam President, in addition to healthcare reform, another Republican

[[Page S1440]]

priority for this spring is confirming Judge Neil Gorsuch to the 
Supreme Court. The Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on his 
confirmation beginning March 20, and I am hopeful Judge Gorsuch will be 
confirmed not too long thereafter. President Trump made an outstanding 
choice when he chose Judge Gorsuch for the Supreme Court.
  Judge Gorsuch has a distinguished resume. He graduated with honors 
from Harvard Law School and received a doctorate from Oxford University 
where he was a Marshall Scholar. He clerked for two Supreme Court 
Justices, Byron White and Anthony Kennedy, and he worked in both 
private practice and at the Justice Department before being nominated 
to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, where he served with distinction 
for the last 10 years.
  He is widely regarded as a brilliant and thoughtful jurist and a 
gifted writer whose opinions are known for their clarity. Above all, 
however, he is known for his impartiality, for his commitment to 
following the law wherever it leads, whether he likes the results or 
not. ``A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad 
judge,'' Judge Gorsuch has said more than once. Why? Because a judge 
who likes every outcome he reaches is likely making decisions based on 
something other than the law, and that is a problem. The job of a judge 
is to interpret the law, not write it, to call the balls and strikes, 
not to rewrite the rules of the game.
  Everyone's rights are put in jeopardy when judges step outside their 
role and start changing the law to suit their personal opinions. Judge 
Gorsuch's nomination has been met with acclaim from conservatives, and 
it has also been met with acclaim from liberals. I think one of the 
biggest reasons for that is because both groups know Judge Gorsuch can 
be relied on to judge impartially.
  Here is what Neal Katyal, an Acting Solicitor General, had to say 
about Judge Gorsuch: ``His years on the bench reveal a commitment to 
judicial independence--a record that should give the American people 
confidence that he will not compromise principle to favor the president 
who appointed him.''
  The Colorado Springs Gazette recently highlighted a letter signed by 
96 prominent Colorado lawyers and judges and sent to the senior Senator 
from Colorado. Here is what those individuals had to say about Judge 
Gorsuch in that letter:

       We hold a diverse set of political views as Republicans, 
     Democrats, and Independents.
       Many of us have been critical of actions taken by President 
     Trump. Nonetheless, we all agree that Judge Gorsuch is 
     exceptionally well-qualified to join the Supreme Court. We 
     know Judge Gorsuch to be a person of utmost character. He is 
     fair, decent, and honest, both as a judge and a person. His 
     record shows that he believes strongly in the independence of 
     the judiciary.

  Well, that is a pretty significant tribute. Again, those weren't just 
conservatives speaking.
  Given Judge Gorsuch's character, his sterling record, and deep 
commitment to impartiality and the rule of law, it is no surprise that 
his nomination has won support from liberals and conservatives alike or 
that the American people are liking what they see when it comes to 
Judge Gorsuch.
  Well-known Democratic pollster Mark Penn recently noted that Judge 
Gorsuch is ``off to an excellent start in his nomination 
process.'' Unfortunately, there are still far-left extremists who would 
like to see Democrats in the Senate attempt to block Judge Gorsuch's 
confirmation, but I am hopeful that my colleagues will ignore these 
voices for obstruction and, instead, listen to the many voices--liberal 
and conservative--that are highlighting just why Judge Gorsuch would be 
an outstanding addition to the Supreme Court.

  I recently met with Judge Gorsuch, and I could not have been more 
impressed. I look forward to hearing from him again at his confirmation 
hearings, and I hope the Senate will act to confirm him shortly 
thereafter. He is the kind of judge all of us should want on the 
Nation's highest Court.
  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. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I rise to echo the concerns expressed 
by my colleague from Florida, Bill Nelson, about the White House's 
refusal to provide written testimony relevant to Mr. Ross's nomination 
prior to the vote this evening.
  Mr. Ross was a key economic adviser to the Trump campaign, and he has 
had business ties with the Bank of Cyprus, a bank with significant 
Russian investors. I understand that the Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation Committee, of which my friend from Florida is the 
ranking member, sent a letter to Mr. Ross to get more information about 
those ties. That is a perfectly reasonable request, especially given 
the circumstances. This information is particularly relevant to the 
Senate since, in recent days, questions about connections between the 
Trump administration and Russia have proliferated.
  While Mr. Ross told my friend from Florida that there is nothing to 
worry about, the White House is sitting on Mr. Ross's written response 
to Senator Nelson's letter. So the Senate will not get written answers 
to these important questions before voting on this nomination.
  This is just another example of this administration's abandoning 
transparency and trying to jam nominees through without making all of 
the relevant information public and available. They have not enjoyed a 
good few weeks with these nominees. They have gotten them through but 
with a lot of pain and a lot of public disconcert, and here we have 
another example.
  We are getting to the end of the Cabinet nominees--a nominee with 
ties to Russia. There is a document that states what they are. As is so 
typical of this administration, which stonewalls and despises 
transparency, they do not let the letter be freed and be made available 
until after the vote on a sensitive issue and one that is important to 
national security--Russia and this administration's relationship to it. 
This is another black mark on this Nation's administration.
  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. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  Under the previous order, all postcloture time has expired.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Ross 
nomination?
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Georgia (Mr. Isakson).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Daines). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 72, nays 27, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 73 Ex.]

                                YEAS--72

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Brown
     Burr
     Capito
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Hatch
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Scott
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Strange
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Warner
     Wicker
     Young

[[Page S1441]]


  


                                NAYS--27

     Baldwin
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Durbin
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Isakson
       
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Colleagues, let me just say, this next vote will be 
the last vote of the evening.
  Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote on the nomination, and I 
move to table the motion to reconsider.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to 
table.
  The motion was agreed to.

                          ____________________