[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 20, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Nominations

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, Senate Democrats continue to 
dutifully advance the Biden administration's radical nominees.
  This week, the Senate will decide whether to give yet another 
leftwing lawyer a lifetime appointment to the Federal bench: Natasha 
Merle, who is an activist lawyer with a penchant for staking out 
extreme and inflammatory positions that are thoroughly divorced from 
reality. For example, she attacked widely popular election integrity 
measures, claiming ``it's inconsistent to denounce White supremacy but 
not repudiate voter ID laws.''
  Alongside the self-proclaimed ``wild-eyed leftist'' Democrats just 
confirmed to the bench last week, Ms. Merle went after the State of 
Alabama for daring to verify the identities of people who cast ballots 
in elections. Meanwhile, Ms. Merle has found time to attack what she 
calls ``unfounded yet repeated public assertions that there is a 
widespread lack of respect for law enforcement'' and criticize efforts 
to promote law and order as ``an illegal attempt to advance a false 
narrative that law enforcement was being attacked.''
  Well, Madam President, President Biden's first year in office saw the 
largest number of law enforcement deaths in the line of duty in 20 
years. But Ms. Merle doesn't appear to like grappling with facts that 
don't suit her narrative. Normally, a record like this would be 
shockingly disqualifying, but under the Biden administration, it is not 
an outlier. It is an essential qualification.
  Unfortunately, the President's affinity for radical nominees applies 
to folks already on the job as well. Last week, Democrats on the EPW 
Committee rammed through the nomination of Jeffery Baran to another 
term as Commissioner at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mr. Baran 
already has an extensive record as the NRC's resident liberal 
obstructionist. While his colleagues collaborate on regulatory 
frameworks that encourage safe and efficient energy production, this 
nominee prides himself on being a stick in the mud.
  Even leading climate activists understand that Mr. Baran's dedication 
to hindering nuclear development ``harm[s] the environment in the 
process.'' They know that reducing carbon emissions means embracing 
safe nuclear energy. Mr. Baran, however, does not.
  At every opportunity, this nominee has opposed commonsense efforts to 
revise regulations and keep pace with the smaller and more affordable 
nuclear technologies of the future. He has shown that his blanket 
antinuclear approach is both a tired relic and an active obstruction to 
American prosperity.
  So no wonder even some Senate Democrats are thinking twice about 
rubberstamping Mr. Baran's nomination. I would urge each of our 
colleagues to oppose it.