[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of Andrew Lynn Brasher

  Mr. President, now, about the nomination of Mr. Brasher, now that the 
impeachment trial of the President is over, Leader McConnell is wasting 
no time getting us back to what seems to be his primary goal: 
rubberstamping unqualified and extreme judicial nominations.
  This week the Senate will consider the nomination of Andrew Brasher 
to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Brasher's primary 
qualification to sit on the Federal bench seems to be the 6\1/2\ 
months--6\1/2\ months--he spent on the district court in Alabama. Let 
me repeat that. Senate Republicans installed Brasher as district court 
judge less than 7 months before moving to elevate him to an appellate 
court. I have never heard of anything like this. The Senate majority is 
asking us to promote a candidate for circuit court judgeship who has 
less than a year of experience as a judge. But he is not just 
unqualified. Maybe they are promoting him so quickly because they love 
the fact that his views are so wildly out of the mainstream. As 
Alabama's solicitor general, Brasher fought against women's 
reproductive rights, which three-quarters of Americans believe in; 
commonsense gun safety laws, which 90 percent of Americans believe in; 
and marriage equality, which the majority of Americans believe in. He 
employed farfetched legal theories that were overruled by the courts, 
including Justice Scalia. Mr. Brasher shamefully spent his career 
defending voter suppression efforts. So less than 1 week after covering 
up the President's attempt to cheat in the next election, Senate 
Republicans are moving forward to reward a nominee who supports voter 
suppression. Both actions smack of contempt for the democratic process 
and a blatant disregard for the franchise of American citizens, the 
thing many of our young men and women have died for throughout the 
century--the right to vote.
  Mr. Brasher's nomination to the circuit court is another disgrace--an 
absolute disgrace--to our Federal judiciary. Every Senator should vote 
against it.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Boozman). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.