[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 19, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5825-S5826]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Recognition of the Majority Leader

  The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, later today, the Senate will vote on 
the nomination of Noel Francisco to become our Nation's next Solicitor 
General.
  The Office of Solicitor General is responsible for representing the 
United States in litigation before the Supreme Court. It is a very 
important office, and Mr. Francisco is very well qualified to lead it. 
His private sector resume is impressive, and his public sector service 
is remarkable.
  He clerked for a towering figure on the Supreme Court, the late 
Justice Antonin Scalia. During the administration of President George 
W. Bush, he worked in the White House Counsel's office. He is currently 
serving as a senior advisor in the Justice Department, after having 
served as Acting and Principal Deputy Solicitor General earlier this 
year.
  Mr. Francisco has successfully argued a number of complex cases 
before a number of courts, including, notably, the case of the National 
Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning before the

[[Page S5826]]

Supreme Court. In that matter, he represented the plaintiff, Noel 
Canning, in its successful challenge to President Obama's unlawful so-
called recess appointments.
  That case is especially important for this body because the Supreme 
Court's unanimous 2014 decision in favor of Noel Canning reaffirmed 
that the Senate, not the President, possesses the clear constitutional 
authority to prescribe the rules of its own proceedings.
  Noel Francisco is a great choice for this tough job, and I urge 
colleagues to join me in supporting him.