[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 182 (Thursday, November 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6582-S6583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Nomination of Steven J. Menashi

  Madam President, the Senate will vote today on the confirmation of 
Steven J. Menashi to serve on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
  In all my time in this body, Mr. Menashi has been one of the most 
contemptible nominees to have come before the Senate. He would be a 
disgrace to the seat once held by the great Thurgood Marshall.
  While sitting before the Committee on the Judiciary, Menashi refused 
to answer simple questions. He showed a breathtaking contempt for 
Senators on both sides of the aisle. His record on

[[Page S6583]]

race, women's equality, LGBTQ rights, and the rights of immigrants 
should be disqualifying. At the Department of Education, he helped to 
cook up an illegal scheme to use the Social Security data of students 
who had been swindled by for-profit colleges in order to deny them debt 
relief. A judge ruled this scheme violated Federal privacy laws.
  At the very least, a candidate for a judgeship should show respect 
for the law. That is the lowest possible bar. A judge is supposed to 
revere the law, uphold it, and apply it with an even hand. How can 
anyone trust Mr. Menashi to come even close to doing that? Mr. Menashi 
is a textbook example of someone who does not deserve to sit on the 
Federal bench, particularly with a lifetime appointment.
  My Republican colleagues, in my view, have rubberstamped too many of 
these extreme, unqualified nominees--nominees, in Mr. Menashi's case, 
who have been almost craven, but on few occasions, a small group has 
stood up and said: Enough. This is too far.
  Well, my colleagues, if there were ever anyone who was too far, it is 
Menashi. There is no reason President Trump couldn't find a more 
suitable nominee for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. I urge my 
Republican colleagues to do the right thing today and reject the 
Menashi nomination.