[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 79 (Monday, May 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2776-S2777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Nominations

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this week the Senate will continue to 
promptly and reasonably consider a number of well-qualified nominees 
for important positions.
  Several weeks ago we put an end to 2 years of unprecedented, 
systematic partisan obstruction that had kept abundantly qualified 
nominees on the sidelines for no substantive reason. The Senate took a 
modest but important step to turn back toward the institutional 
traditions that had shaped our work in nominations throughout our 
history. We put in place a reform to speed up the postcloture floor 
time that we spend debating on lower level nominations--or, in many 
cases, I should say, supposedly debating them.
  Since then we have been able to fill several important posts in the 
executive branch, along with seats on the bench, at a more reasonable 
pace. In many cases, these unobjectionable candidates have received the 
overwhelming support they deserve--90 to 8, 90 to 8, 95 to 3.
  Over the next few days, four more will receive consideration on the 
floor. We will begin by processing the first of two more well-qualified 
nominees to our Nation's district courts, such as Michael J. Truncale, 
of Texas, to serve as U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of 
Texas.

[[Page S2777]]

  Mr. Truncale is a graduate of Lamar University, the University of 
North Texas, and the Southern Methodist University School of Law. Over 
more than three decades of private practice, he has amassed a 
distinguished record in both litigation and appellate law. In addition, 
Mr. Truncale has served on the board of regents for the Texas State 
University System and the Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board 
in the Texas Comptroller's Office.
  His nomination has earned a well-qualified rating from the ABA and 
has twice been favorably reported by our colleagues on the Judiciary 
Committee. So I hope each of our colleagues will join me and add Mr. 
Truncale's nomination to the growing list of uncontroversial nominees 
passed in an orderly, bipartisan fashion.
  Following consideration of the Truncale nomination, we will vote on 
Kenneth Lee's nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and 
Wendy Vitter's nomination to serve as U.S. District Judge for the 
Eastern District of Louisiana.
  Then we will consider the nomination of Brian Bulatao, of Texas, to 
serve as Under Secretary of State for Management. This is, effectively, 
the COO job at the Department of State, responsible for such critical 
things as embassy security. His nomination was first submitted to the 
Senate in June of 2018, nearly a year ago.
  Following those four individuals, the Senate will also consider this 
week the nomination of Jeffrey Rosen to serve as our next Deputy 
Attorney General. Mr. Rosen is a graduate of Northwestern University 
and Harvard Law School. He built a strong record in private practice as 
a litigator before entering public service in 2003. Prior to his 
current position, he has served as the Deputy Secretary at the 
Department of Transportation and at the Office of Management and Budget 
and as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.
  The American people deserve that their Department of Justice be fully 
staffed, fully operational, and fully committed to upholding our 
Nation's laws. So I hope that each of my colleagues reviews this 
impressive nominee and then votes to confirm him this week.