[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 149 (Tuesday, September 17, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S5503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Brett Kavanaugh

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I want to get straight to the point 
this morning. I find it incomprehensible that some of our friends 
across the aisle are repeating the same missteps that turned last 
fall's Supreme Court confirmation battle into a black mark on the 
history of this body.
  I want to make it clear that I have no desire to relitigate the 
disputes borne from Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings. I 
do not want to hear my friends on the other side of the aisle leverage 
more of the same baseless, salacious allegations in the name of 
partisan politicking. But when you stop and think about it, since they 
have chosen to go there, it is imperative that I speak out--that we 
speak out--about what is transpiring.
  I was not in the Senate for the first go-around on this, but I am 
here now, and I can tell you that I intend to give their arguments 
exactly the amount of deference and respect they deserve.
  Sitting on the sidelines is never easy, but it is especially 
difficult when you are watching a fight and you know you could get in 
there and help win that fight. I know this feeling very well. Last 
fall, I was fighting to go from the House of Representatives to the 
Senate. I was also fighting to become the first female Senator from the 
great State of Tennessee--the very first.
  While on the campaign trail, I got more than an earful from other 
Tennessee women who were watching this breathless coverage of Justice 
Kavanaugh's confirmation. These women were concerned that their voices 
were not being heard in this debate. They were concerned also for 
spouses, sons, brothers, and male colleagues. They could see these 
baseless claims, and they were concerned for the lack of due process. 
They did not like for 1 minute what they were seeing, and I didn't like 
it either.
  These women came from all political walks of life and all areas of 
our State. They were disgusted by the nature of the sexual assault 
allegations, and they were horrified by what they rightly saw as an 
eagerness to set aside the due process that is so important to this 
Nation and to the rule of law. It was being set aside in order to make 
an example out of Kavanaugh.
  Were flimsy allegations and social justice buzzwords really the new 
standard for credibility?
  As much as I wanted to reassure these women that sanity would 
prevail, in the back of my mind I remained fully aware that, if left 
unchecked, insanity is fully capable of carrying the day. It knows no 
bounds.
  As it turns out, conservatism prevailed in Tennessee, and sanity 
prevailed in the U.S. Senate. I was humbled when Supreme Court Justice 
Brett Kavanaugh performed my ceremonial swearing-in this past January 
and when I received the additional honor of being one of two Republican 
women afforded a seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee--humbled, truly 
humbled, but also prepared to stand up for what I know is right.
  I will not abide by or participate in the lack of civility that we 
saw during Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation. We have to realize that 
this is more serious than just evaluating a final tally of political 
points on the board. Politicians, journalists, and activists are 
leveraging unfounded criminal allegations against a duly confirmed 
Supreme Court justice. I repeat that: They are leveraging unfounded 
criminal allegations against a duly confirmed Supreme Court justice in 
an effort to undermine not only his work but ultimately the entire 
Court as an institution.
  Is this honestly what we have come to? Is this the new low of lows? 
Can no one see the danger in doing this and letting it continue and 
giving it air to breathe or to thrive? This is a danger. We are a 
nation of laws, and the Senate is a body built on process and 
deliberation.
  Tennesseans are asking: Who is going to stand and who is going to 
defend that process in this body?
  As a woman, as a new Senator and a member of the Senate Judiciary 
Committee, I stand to defend the process and for civility. I refuse to 
leave this political chaos unchecked, and I welcome my colleagues and 
my friends across the aisle to join me in recognizing that due process 
and civil discourse are required for constructive, respectful debate.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Scott of Florida). The Senator from 
Montana.