[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 140 (Thursday, August 5, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S5894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO ANDREW FERGUSON

  Mr. McCONNELL. Now, Mr. President, on one final matter, when you have 
served in the Senate as long as I have, you get to hire and work with a 
lot of talented people, and when you find rock stars, you try to hang 
onto them. As a result, when a key staff member moves on, it often 
means reflecting on an extended Senate career of many years, including 
shared memories of old war stories going back ages.
  Andrew Ferguson is a different case.
  It was only 2 years ago that I hired Andrew to be my chief counsel. 
He has only been in the Senate about 3 years. By the standards of this 
place, he is a spring chicken. But it has only taken Andrew this short 
time to leave a stunningly outsized imprint on my work, on our 
conference, on the judiciary, and on everyone who has gotten to work 
alongside of him as well.
  So, a few days before Andrew concludes his Senate service, I am both 
happy for the opportunity to share how this happened and really, really 
sorry that I have to do it.
  The chief counsel in my leadership office handles a portfolio that is 
almost comically large: judicial confirmations, law enforcement and 
crime, immigration and border security, some constitutional questions 
that intersect with the separation of powers, others that intersect 
with national security, sometimes arcane Senate history. It takes a 
lawyer's lawyer with expertise in our laws and Constitution and someone 
who can feel out the politics, the personalities, and the shades of 
gray that drive a political body.
  One look at Andrew's resume told me that qualification No. 1 was, 
clearly, no problem--UVA Law; clerked on the DC Circuit; clerked for 
Justice Thomas; experience in the private sector--a lawyer anybody 
would be glad to hire.
  Oh, but what about the second qualification?
  Like I said, Andrew wasn't a long-serving Senate hand. He arrived at 
Judiciary in time to help Chairman Grassley notch a win for the country 
and the sanity of the Senate with the confirmation of Justice 
Kavanaugh. He had only just been promoted to Chairman Graham's top 
nominations counsel when I poached him.
  Well, Andrew stepped into this complex role, and, boy, did he 
flourish.
  He became a go-to leader for committees and offices across the 
Republican side, a key Senate liaison to both the executive and 
judicial branches. He added to his lawyerly chops and grew into a 
strategic adviser of the first-rate. Our Republican conference is a big 
tent with a range of visions, but Senators from across the conference 
have come not just to trust Andrew's judgment, but they seek it out.
  Andrew's impact has been truly dramatic. I do not believe any other 
Senate staffer played a more crucial role in the last two Supreme Court 
confirmations combined. He was our side's field general in confirming 
Justice Barrett. Our majority spent 4 years rebuilding the kind of 
Federal judiciary that our constitutional order requires. Andrew played 
an indispensable part.
  The last couple of years have brought all sorts of unusual national 
challenges. The 2 years that Andrew has spent with us feel more like 
10. We faced scenarios that would have sounded like wild law school 
hypotheticals. Who would have guessed we would be fighting to protect 
Americans' religious freedom while the government battled an airborne 
virus? But our chief counsel invariably brought us up to speed on 
whatever the day would bring with a good head, a big heart, and great 
humor. And if the topic was new to him, a big stack of library books 
were on his desk.
  It might sound like Andrew was just very dedicated to his job. That 
is not totally unusual. But that doesn't fully capture it. See, I have 
come to believe he is simply this intense about absolutely everything. 
Andrew takes work very seriously, but he also takes his faith 
seriously, and he takes family seriously. He treasures the upbringing 
that his parents, Roy and Susan, provided for him and his two brothers. 
He takes his interests seriously, his hobbies. There is an intense, 
infectious enthusiasm for all of it, a kind of good-natured aggression.
  Now, as his colleagues will attest, all this intensity can yield, 
actually, entertaining results. If, for example, you took a stroll by 
Andrew's desk, you would often hear him shouting--shouting--excitedly 
at a colleague, but you would generally genuinely have no clue whether 
he is strongly disagreeing with the person or just agreeing with them 
with great gusto. He could be discussing the law, but it might also be 
Roman history or the Protestant Reformation or the merits of some TV 
comedy or his weekend plans involving the lawful exercise of his Second 
Amendment rights. Whatever the subject, you would get maximum 
enthusiasm, maximum force of nature, and everybody in earshot usually 
learns some new fact and shares a big laugh.
  Different people enjoy this line of work for different reasons, but 
for Andrew, I think politics and policy matter so much because ideas 
and principles matter so much. That is why one of the most darkly funny 
and cynical people on our team has also been one of the most earnest 
and idealistic. Everything is worth thinking through. Everything is 
worth taking seriously because principles matter, the rule of law 
matters, and our country matters. That is why we come to work every 
day.
  A lot of people first come to Washington with a warrior mentality, 
but the rhythms of this city sometimes lull folks into a somewhat 
calmer mixture. But, believe me, as I suspect the entire Senate can 
attest by now, we need not worry that Andrew Ferguson will be lulled 
into a calmer anything.
  So, my friend, you may be leaving the trenches for now, but we both 
know there is no chance you will be able to stay away forever. You are 
going to miss the good fight, and I can say with personal certainty 
that the fight is going to miss you as well. Thank you for the law 
lectures. Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for an outstanding job 
for our country. Job well done.

                          ____________________