[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 113 (Thursday, June 18, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S3074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    NOMINATION OF JUSTIN REED WALKER

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on one final matter, later today, the 
Senate will confirm Judge Justin Walker of Kentucky to join the DC 
Circuit Court of Appeals.
  Now, as I have noted in just the last several weeks, Judge Walker has 
given the Senate several new reasons to support his nomination to the 
second most important Federal bench.
  In testimony before our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, he 
demonstrated an impressive grasp of legal precedent. At his current 
post as district judge for the Western District of Kentucky, he 
eloquently applied this understanding to uphold Americans' religious 
liberty, and he earned the approval of the American Bar Association 
with a rating of ``well-qualified.''
  But, of course, Judge Walker's credentials were already sterling. 
Long before this nominee began practicing and then applying the law, he 
was collecting plaudits for his excellence at studying it.
  Judge Walker, as I mentioned before, graduated from Duke University 
summa cum laude, and Harvard Law School magna cum laude. Those 
credentials can easily lead someone to an elite law firm in a big city, 
but instead, it led Judge Walker to clerkships for then-Judge Brett 
Kavanaugh and then-Justice Anthony Kennedy.
  He then went back home to the University of Louisville Law School. He 
quickly became a star faculty member, producing distinguished 
scholarship on a wide range of legal issues. Once Judge Walker took his 
current seat on the bench for the Western District of Kentucky, he 
wasted no time building an equally strong reputation for the fairness 
and open-mindedness that Americans deserve from their judges.
  In one letter to our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, 100 
practicing lawyers from across Kentucky said:

       If Judge Walker is confirmed, we could give our clients an 
     assessment of him for which any judge should strive: he is 
     sharp, fair, and will follow the law.

  In another letter, 16 different State attorneys general told us:

       As someone from outside the Beltway with a commitment to 
     the rule of law, we know that Judge Walker will listen to the 
     arguments of advocates appearing before him, that he will 
     weigh the facts against the law as it is written (and not as 
     he wishes it to be), and that he will fairly decide those 
     cases based upon controlling precedent.

  These glowing assessments are not from elite corporate counsel or 
frequent flyers on the DC Circuit. These are from men and women across 
Kentucky and across America who have seen this man work and watched his 
career.
  Republican Presidents have a proud tradition of looking beyond 
Washington to freshen up the DC Circuit with diverse perspectives from 
across America. President Nixon thought this crucial court could use 
the expertise of a Texan and a Minnesotan. President Reagan chose legal 
minds from Colorado and North Carolina. President Bush 41 chose a South 
Carolinian, and President Bush 43 a Californian.
  So when the Senate confirms Judge Walker to this vacancy, we will not 
just be promoting a widely admired legal expert and proven judge to a 
role for which he is obviously qualified, we will also be adding to a 
time-honored tradition of finding men and women from all across the 
country to help ensure that this enormously consequential bench here in 
our Nation's Capital is refreshed with talent from all parts of 
America.
  My fellow Kentuckians and I are sorry to part with this son in the 
Bluegrass, but mostly we are proud because Judge Walker will be putting 
his legal brilliance and his exceptional judicial temperament to work 
not just for his home State but for our entire Nation and in even more 
consequential ways. I look forward to voting to confirm Judge Justin 
Walker, and I urge each of my colleagues to do the same.

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