[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 15, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1821-S1824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Nomination of Neil Gorsuch

  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, as I did 2 weeks ago and will continue to 
do until he is confirmed, I rise to support the nomination of Neil 
Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court. Judge Gorsuch is an 
accomplished, mainstream jurist, and I look forward to helping to make 
sure that he receives an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor.
  Next week, my colleagues and I on the Judiciary Committee will hold 
confirmation hearings on Judge Gorsuch. I look forward to hearing his 
testimony. I am confident that he will impress the country with his 
knowledge of and respect for the law, just as he has impressed me and 
my colleagues.
  But before the hearings get under way, I thought I would use this 
opportunity today to highlight an additional aspect of his life and his 
jurisprudence that make him an ideal nominee to serve on the High 
Court. So far I have spoken on the floor about his fitness to fill 
Justice Scalia's seat, as well as his defense of the separation of 
powers and his support for religious liberty. Today I would like to 
discuss a more personal aspect of Judge Gorsuch's background--the fact 
that he is a westerner. As an Arizonan, I cannot overstate how 
important it will be to have a fellow westerner serving on the Supreme 
Court.
  Where you are from influences your understanding of cultural and 
regional sensitivities. When you look at the current makeup of the 
Supreme Court, there is an unmistakable lack of geographic diversity. 
Of the eight current Justices, five of them were born in New York or 
New Jersey, and that number was six before Judge Scalia's passing. 
Granted, Justice Kennedy is from Northern California, but to be frank, 
much of Northern California is about as culturally western as Justice 
Breyer's hometown of Boston.
  The Supreme Court is in desperate need of a western perspective. 
Judge Gorsuch fits that bill. When I had the opportunity to meet Judge 
Gorsuch in my office last month, we discussed our respective western 
backgrounds. I talked to him about my days growing up on a cattle ranch 
in rural Arizona. He told me that his heart has always been in the 
American West. You can learn a lot about a person by how they spend 
their time with their friends and their family, and there is no 
mistaking this aspect with Judge Gorsuch. He is a westerner through and 
through.
  He told me about his home outside of Boulder, where his daughters 
raise and show chickens and goats. I was pleased to learn that each 
year he takes his law clerks to the National Western Stock Show in 
Denver, one of the Nation's largest rodeos. By now, I think we have all 
seen the picture of him fly fishing with Judge Scalia. While all this 
demonstrates how much he has embraced the western lifestyle, what makes 
Judge Gorsuch a true westerner is more than just where he lives or 
where his personal interests are. Judge Gorsuch's western values are 
evident in his jurisprudence, which reflects a strong commitment to 
public service. Arizona has had its share of distinguished public 
servants. In fact, it was from this very desk that the late Barry 
Goldwater, one of Arizona's favorite sons, steered the public policy 
debate

[[Page S1822]]

for years after he chose to leave a successful career in the private 
sector. Judge Gorsuch's career reflects the same ethos.
  Early on, a young Neil Gorsuch rocketed to the top of the legal 
profession, becoming a partner in one of Washington's most elite law 
firms. But instead of enjoying the comforts of a lucrative private 
sector career, he left it all behind for a high-responsibility, low-
profile job at the Department of Justice.
  After his time at DOJ, Neil Gorsuch could have easily retired or 
returned to a white-shoe legal practice. Instead, he returned to his 
home State of Colorado to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the Tenth Circuit. Throughout his tenure on the Federal bench, 
Judge Gorsuch's western disposition has shone through in his 
jurisprudence.
  I have already spoken of his skepticism toward the administrative 
state, with its executive bureaucracies, which, he cautions, ``swallow 
huge amounts of core judicial and legislative power and concentrate 
Federal power in a way that seems more than a little difficult to 
square with the Constitution of the framers' design.''
  He shares a healthy skepticism over an overly intrusive and heavy-
handed bureaucracy with millions of his Federal westerners. Judge 
Gorsuch recognizes how Federal regulations interfere with the ability 
of Western States to govern themselves, whether it is a former 
administration's Clean Power Plan, its ozone rules, or even management 
of the Mexican gray wolf.
  In numerous opinions, Judge Gorsuch has given voice to many of the 
frustrations experienced by his western neighbors. From his criticism 
of an overly assertive DC court that often feels compelled to intervene 
from 2,000 miles away to his recognition of excessive litigation that 
arises from the complexities of split-estate property rights out West, 
he speaks our language.
  These are perspectives any westerner is familiar with, but they may 
not be obvious to others, including folks from New York and New Jersey. 
If confirmed, Judge Gorsuch will already bring generational and 
religious diversity to the Court. Perhaps more than anything, it will 
be his western perspective that most enriches the debate in the years 
to come.
  As I have said before, Judge Gorsuch deserves fair consideration by 
those who serve in this body, and he deserves an up-or-down vote on the 
Senate floor. He should be confirmed overwhelmingly, and I am confident 
that he will be.
  Joining us on the floor today are several members of the Senate from 
Western States. I see that the Senator from Wyoming has joined us. I 
think he has some thoughts about Neil Gorsuch and his nomination to the 
Court.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, joining my colleague here on the floor, 
I agree with all of the comments the Senator from Arizona has made. 
They are interesting because as to the history of the State of the 
Senator from Arizona and his family history, Judge Gorsuch has a 
similar history, to the point that his great-grandfather built a hotel 
in Wyoming called the Wolf Hotel, in Saratoga, WY. I found a picture of 
that hotel from 1878, which was 12 years before Wyoming became a State. 
I got that picture from the American history museum at the University 
of Wyoming and got a copy of the picture and gave it to Judge Gorsuch.
  In front of the hotel in 1878, there was a stagecoach with six horses 
lined up ahead of it. The Wolf Hotel was a halfway stop on the 
stagecoach line between a couple of communities in Wyoming. They were 
about 40 miles apart. So that is the heritage from which Judge Gorsuch 
comes.
  I think that western heritage is important. But I think that 
additionally important is what the Senator referred to--his judicial 
temperament, being such a mainstream member of the judiciary, and this 
general belief inherent within him that the role of a judge is to apply 
the law, not to legislate from the bench.
  We have seen so much legislating from the bench. I think you just 
don't get that if you take somebody from the Rocky Mountain West who 
has this view of the Nation and an understanding of the rule of law and 
the Constitution.
  So I think we are going to see that when the Senate Judiciary 
Committee begins its hearings next week on Judge Gorsuch's nomination 
to the Supreme Court. I visited with him, reviewed his writings, and 
then compared it to what I saw when I visited with Justice Scalia when 
he came to Wyoming. The Senator from Arizona mentioned the picture of 
the two working together, fishing together.
  I just think he is the right person to continue that incredible 
legacy of Justice Scalia.
  Mr. FLAKE. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. BARRASSO. Yes.
  Mr. FLAKE. You point out the sensitivities that you have when you 
come from the West. A lot of it has to do with, if you are in a rural 
area in particular, you are--as my family grew up--working on the land. 
Much of that land is either owned by or controlled by the Federal 
Government, the State government, or Tribal governments in Arizona's 
case. In fact, 85 percent of the State of Arizona is publicly owned. So 
when you live in the West and you work the land on a ranch or farm, you 
are dealing specifically with Federal regulators and Federal property 
managers. I think those who were raised in the West and have lived here 
understand the impact of the Federal Government's decisions. The 
administrative state has an outsized impact on those who live in the 
West, and I think that is evident in the jurisprudence you see from 
Judge Gorsuch.
  How much of Wyoming is publicly owned?
  Mr. BARRASSO. Well, it is about 50-50. But when you talk about the 
heavy hand of a bureaucratic government and the impact on the lives of 
the people who live there, it is dramatic. It can be very punishing, as 
we have seen over the last 8 years with regulations that have come out 
of agencies--sometimes, I believe, in defiance of the law, sometimes 
reversed by the Supreme Court.
  That is why I think it is critical to have Neil Gorsuch on the 
Supreme Court, because he is someone who realizes that the Constitution 
is a legal document--not a living document, not built for flexibility, 
but really a rigid legal document. That is where I believe he stands. 
That is what his writings indicate. It is the sort of thing we have 
seen from him. I visited with him, and other Members have. These are 
the things we read about.
  With regard to his writings over the years, this is a judge who has 
faithfully applied the law--applied the law, focusing on the 
Constitution. He has not been afraid to rule against the government or 
for unpopular parties when the law demands it because he is going to go 
right back to the law. I believe his opinions show great reverence for 
all of the Constitution--a key respect for the importance of the 
separation of powers.
  I support his nomination completely. It is interesting, because when 
he was nominated for the position he currently holds, the Democratic 
Senator from Colorado--and I am expecting Senator Cory Gardner to be 
here in a little bit to talk about the quote from Ken Salazar, the 
former Senator from Colorado, who talked about what a wonderful man 
Judge Gorsuch was and how he should be put onto that bench. He was 
unanimously confirmed here in the Senate.
  I have full confidence in Judge Gorsuch as a son of the West, as the 
only Justice from the Rocky Mountain West who would be on the Court. 
Specifically, though, I would support him no matter where he was from 
because of his belief that it is the role of a judge and a justice to 
apply the law, not to legislate from the bench, which I think goes 
above and beyond where someone is from, what their background may be. 
But I will just tell you that his background, combined with his 
philosophy and mainstream approach to the law, is exactly what we need 
now in 2017 on the U.S. Supreme Court. I believe he deserves an up-or-
down vote. I believe he will be confirmed as people get a chance to see 
him, get to know him better.
  I see I am joined on the floor by another colleague, also from the 
Rocky Mountain West, the Senator from Montana. You have heard from 
Arizona, Wyoming, and now Montana. I would ask him about his thoughts 
about this nomination by President Trump of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme 
Court.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.

[[Page S1823]]

  

  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I want to thank my esteemed colleague from 
Wyoming, Senator Barrasso, for his comments. He shared many of the same 
views I have.
  As I think about the job I do as a Senator--perhaps one of the most 
important jobs we have as Senators is approving a Supreme Court 
Justice. An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court can serve an average 
of 27 years. We think about Justice Scalia; he served 30 years. Neil 
Gorsuch is 49 years old. God willing, he probably will serve 30 years 
or more, perhaps. Think about that. My wife and I have four children. 
They are going through the college years and so forth. They are in 
their early and midtwenties. They will likely be grandparents when 
Judge Gorsuch wraps up his career on the Supreme Court, assuming he is 
approved. That is why a decision like this about whom to vote for, whom 
to stand behind, whom to stand with is so important. It is not just for 
today, it is for our children and our grandchildren.
  The people want a Supreme Court Justice who does not legislate from 
the bench. The people want a Supreme Court Justice who upholds the rule 
of law and follows the Constitution. The people want a Supreme Court 
Justice with a record of constitutional jurisprudence and legal 
restraint to match what we saw from Justice Antonin Scalia. The people 
want a Supreme Court Justice with the academic credentials, who is well 
prepared to serve the American people on our highest Court, to wrestle 
with some of the most complicated issues that the High Court wrestles 
with.
  When President Trump announced that he was appointing Judge Neil 
Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court, the American people knew he was 
truly a supreme pick. He has a brilliant legal mind. He understands the 
role a judge plays in our judicial system--to interpret the law and not 
to legislate from the bench. In fact, on the night he was announced, 
when President Trump revealed his pick, I was at the White House, and I 
heard Judge Gorsuch say: ``A judge who likes every outcome he reaches 
is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather 
than those the law demands.'' That is the humility of a great judge.
  Judge Gorsuch has impeccable legal qualifications that demonstrate he 
will be the type of Justice every American deserves to have on the 
highest Court. He graduated from Harvard Law School. He was a Harry 
Truman Scholar, graduated with honors in 1991. He earned his law degree 
and then attended Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar and received 
his doctorate degree in 2004 from Oxford.
  As we say out West, and as a Montanan, I have to say I am thrilled to 
see somebody from Colorado be nominated for the Supreme Court. We say 
out West: Go get a good education and then get over it. And he brings 
that kind of humility to the bench. He understands that he is beneath 
the law, he is subject to the law. He is there to interpret the law, 
not to make the law.
  He clerked for Justice Byron White. He clerked for Justice Kennedy of 
the Supreme Court of the United States. In fact, in 2006, Judge Gorsuch 
was nominated by then-President Bush to the Tenth Circuit in Denver, 
CO. He was confirmed without any opposition, including the support of 
11 current Democratic Senators. In fact, some of those Democrats 
included Harvard Law classmate Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, 
and the current minority leader, Chuck Schumer. During his time as a 
judge on the Tenth Circuit, he has built a solid reputation as a 
respected jurist with a very distinguished record.
  One thing about serving on the Tenth Circuit Court for 10 years: You 
can run, but you can't hide. He has left a track record. It is an 
impressive track record. It is a consistent record of defending the 
Constitution, including respecting the separation of powers and 
respecting federalism and the Bill of Rights to protect every American 
from government overreach and government abuse.
  When I had the opportunity to sit down with Judge Gorsuch, it was 
back in early February. We spoke about the role of government and 
federalism. We spoke about the Second Amendment. We spoke about 
protecting life and upholding our civil liberties. We spoke about our 
shared western values, mine as a native Montanan, his as a native 
Coloradan, both of us westerners. I know he understands our way of 
life. He understands Montana values. In fact, his face lit up as we 
talked about the love of the outdoors and his passion for hiking and 
fishing.
  As chairman of the Western Caucus, it is important to me to have 
someone who understands western values, someone who understands the 
impact the law and his decisions will have on the West.
  As westerners, we fight to protect our Fourth Amendment rights. We 
champion federalism so that power not expressly given to the Federal 
Government in the Constitution is returned back to the States and to 
the people. We will tirelessly fight to protect the Second Amendment. 
These are western values.
  By the way, the Second Amendment is not primarily about hunting. Our 
Founding Fathers were not thinking about deer hunting or elk hunting 
when they were discussing the Second Amendment. It was about liberty. 
It was about freedom. These are western values. Judge Gorsuch's 
background and record strongly suggest that he recognizes and adheres 
to these values. He will uphold the law. He will rightfully check the 
administration and Congress when their actions are not done under the 
law, like President Obama's EPA power plan or the WOTUS rule. These are 
actions that cripple western economies, and they are politically 
charged.
  I would also like to mention that Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado 
and I were just at the White House meeting, just an hour ago. We were 
at the White House meeting with over a dozen Tribes who represent 
hundreds of other Tribes. We were there to discuss our support for Neil 
Gorsuch to be a Supreme Court Justice. I can tell you, it was great to 
be there with one of my hometown Tribes from Montana, the CSKT. They 
have endorsed Neil Gorsuch. They understand that we need a mainstream, 
commonsense westerner on the Supreme Court.
  By the way, when you look at Neil Gorsuch's record on Indian Country 
issues, as a member of the Tenth Circuit Court for 10 years, he has a 
track record of ruling on some very complicated issues that face Indian 
Country. He understands sovereignty. That is very important. That is 
why you are seeing Tribes endorsing Judge Gorsuch.
  More importantly, the American people deserve nine members on the 
Supreme Court. Neil Gorsuch is the mainstream judge the American people 
want and deserve to fill out the Court.
  I am looking forward to what will happen next week in those hearings. 
You are going to see a very, very bright, a very, very thoughtful, a 
very, very kind, and a very, very humble jurist who understands and 
upholds the rule of law. I am excited for our country that we have such 
a phenomenal nominee. I look forward to casting my vote to confirm him 
to the highest Court in our great country.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, what is the parliamentary situation right 
now?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is considering the Coats 
nomination.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I understand that we will be voting in 
about 10 minutes; is that correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct, sir.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I have had the great honor and privilege 
of knowing the nominee to be our Director of National Intelligence for 
many years. In fact, I came to the House of Representatives in the 
election of 1984, and I had the honor of knowing Dan Coats beginning at 
that time.
  As is well known, Dan Coats left the Senate and became our Ambassador 
to Germany, where he did an outstanding job. He came back to the U.S. 
Senate and served in this body with distinction and honor. Now he goes 
on to serve as the Director of National Intelligence.
  I could argue that a dedicated, experienced, knowledgeable, and 
courageous Director of National Intelligence

[[Page S1824]]

is now needed more than at any time that I can remember in the last 
many years.
  With divisions within the intelligence community, there are 
challenges to the credibility of the intelligence community along the 
lines that I have never seen. There are questions about the activities 
of the intelligence community. For example, the President of the United 
States alleges that Trump Tower was ``wiretapped,'' in his words, by 
the previous administration, and we see the former Director of National 
Intelligence both before the Congress and on national television 
stating that those allegations are not true.
  There are probably more questions and more controversy surrounding 
our intelligence services than at any time since anyone can remember, 
since Watergate. So this is a perfect time, in my view, for Dan Coats 
to assume the highest responsibilities of our Director of National 
Intelligence. He has the respect and indeed affection of Members on 
both sides of the aisle because of his successful efforts at working in 
a bipartisan fashion. He served on the Intelligence Committee. He 
served on that committee in a very dedicated and knowledgeable fashion.
  I hope my colleagues will unanimously vote in favor of our former 
colleague. Both sides of the aisle know him, and we know him well. I 
wish I had some of his qualities of congeniality and pleasantry. He has 
always been respectful of other views. Even in the fiercest debates 
that we might have, he has always been respectful of those who 
disagree. So he comes to the job with the much needed credibility that 
will make him immediately effective.
  Let's be frank. The intelligence communities are probably under 
greater attack in a whole variety of ways, both on whether the American 
people trust them to do the job that they are doing or whether they 
have become a partisan organization. I think that with the respect and 
appreciation and affection that those of us who had the privilege of 
knowing him--on both sides of the aisle--and knowing what an honorable 
and decent person he is, he will not only serve as an effective 
Director of National Intelligence, but he will serve to restore 
credibility.
  God knows we need credibility at this time, as we see the Russians 
trying to affect the outcome of our election, as we see today the 
Russians trying to affect the French election and possibly the German 
election, as we see unprecedented cyber attacks--more than at any time 
in the past. With the challenge of cyber alone, where our adversaries 
or our potential adversaries are equal to or even, in some cases, more 
capable of exercising their abilities and capabilities in the cyber 
realm, then we are in a very difficult and challenging struggle.
  That is why I think that many times in history, not only does the man 
make the job but the job makes the man. I am confident, in the case of 
Senator Dan Coats, that will be the case.
  I thank the Democratic leader for allowing this vote to take place so 
Dan Coats can get to work immediately.
  I urge my colleagues to offer their support with their vote for this 
nomination of a great and good and gentle man who has again volunteered 
to serve his Nation, for which all of us should be appreciative, and I 
am sure we are.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Coats 
nomination?
  Mr. BARRASSO. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander), the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Corker), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Isakson).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Alexander) would have voted ``yea'' and the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Corker) would have voted ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cotton). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 85, nays 12, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 89 Ex.]

                                YEAS--85

     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Strange
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--12

     Baldwin
     Booker
     Duckworth
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Markey
     Merkley
     Paul
     Sanders
     Udall
     Warren
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Alexander
     Corker
     Isakson
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move 
to table the motion to reconsider.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  The motion was agreed to.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to address the 
Senate for 1 minute.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.