[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 99 (Wednesday, June 7, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1988-S1989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Judicial Nominations

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for someone who campaigned as a 
moderate and promised to unify our country, President Biden has chosen 
to staff his administration with a roster--a roster--of alarmingly 
radical or unqualified personnel.
  In recent weeks, the President's nominees who have made the biggest 
headlines have been the ones so far outside the mainstream that even a 
Democratic Senate majority would not confirm them, like the appeals 
court nominee who defended a school against a teenage victim of sexual 
assault or the traffic safety nominee whose real passion turned out to 
be extreme environmental regulations. This week, the Senate is 
considering yet another slate of radical nominations that are entirely 
unworthy of confirmation.
  First, is the nomination of David Crane, a self-described ``climate 
activist.'' President Biden would like him to serve as Undersecretary 
for Infrastructure at the Department of Energy.
  Mr. Crane's nomination is bad news for Kentucky, for coal country, 
and for any American who enjoys making their own choices about which 
cars to drive, which products to consume, and how to earn a living.
  This nominee has been outspoken about his so-called ``green dream'' 
to force a massive chunk of the world's economy to go carbon free in 8 
years--8 years--and then use their influence to ``compel society'' to 
follow suit.
  He even observed that Democratic Presidential nominees hadn't made 
extreme climate policy enough of a priority in their campaigns. In 
other words, Hillary Clinton, who once bragged that ``we're going to 
put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business,'' was not 
radical enough--not radical enough--for David Crane. So we are talking 
about an unabashed, top-down social planner. As we have learned over 
the past 2 years, that is exactly what the Biden administration ordered 
when it handed the keys to the American energy policy to the radical 
left.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Crane is not the only nominee on this week's 
agenda with a reputation for wearing his radical liberal sympathies on 
his sleeve. The Senate will also vote on the nomination of David Ho to 
serve on the Federal bench in the Southern District of New York.
  Mr. Ho has described himself--listen to this--as a ``wild-eyed 
leftist.'' Let me say that again. President Biden would like a self-
identified ``wild-eyed leftist'' to rule on cases in the largest 
Federal court in the country.
  Mr. Ho's legal record indicates that this radical sympathy runs very 
deep. This is a nominee who has publicly lamented ``originalism is not 
a method of constitutional interpretation that can reliably lend itself 
to progressive outcomes.'' Imagine that. It turns out that actually 
following and applying our laws and our Constitution as they were 
written is not a one-way ticket to leftwing utopia.
  And, by the way, that should be an argument for the radical left 
sidelining their bad ideas, not an argument for sidelining the 
Constitution. Somebody who wants a lifetime appointment as an impartial 
judge must be committed to putting the rule of law ahead of personal 
views, not the other way around.
  Ah, but Mr. Ho hasn't limited his public criticism to the basic legal 
principles that underpin the Federal judiciary. During the Obama 
administration, he railed against the Fraternal Order of Police for 
expressing their concerns about a particularly anti-cop Justice 
Department nominee. He called the FOP's opposition a ``disgrace.''
  He has also taken to attacking members of the Judiciary Committee on 
Twitter. And throughout his career, Mr. Ho has been outspoken--
outspoken--in denigrating basic mainstream efforts to ensure the 
integrity of American elections. He has likened overwhelmingly popular 
practices like voter ID requirements to be ``a very thinly veiled call 
for racial profiling.''
  Let me be absolutely clear: Senate Republicans will not participate 
in rubberstamping radical nominees. I would urge our colleagues to join 
me in rejecting each of these unfit nominations this week.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.

[[Page S1989]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hickenlooper). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.