[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 209 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S6041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Nomination of Sara E. Hill

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm 
Sara Hill to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of 
Oklahoma.
  Ms. Hill has deep ties to Oklahoma. Born in Tahlequah, OK, she 
received her B.A. from Northeastern State University, cum laude, and 
her J.D. from the University of Tulsa College of Law. She then began 
working for the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, where she served as an 
Assistant Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Secretary of 
Natural Resources, and Attorney General. She also served as a special 
assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern 
District of Oklahoma in Tulsa. Since leaving her role as Attorney 
General, Ms. Hill has worked as a solo practitioner at Hill Law, PLLC 
in Tahlequah. She also serves as a voting, at-large member of the 
Tribal Issues Advisory Group of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Ms. 
Hill has significant litigation experience in State, Federal, and 
Tribal court. Over the course of her career, she has tried 43 cases to 
verdict, and as Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation, she had 
constitutional responsibility for all litigation of the government and 
its businesses.
  Ms. Hill is strongly supported by both of her home State Senators, as 
well as by the Oklahoma and Native American legal communities. The 
American Bar Association unanimously rated her as ``qualified'' to 
serve on the Northern District of Oklahoma. If confirmed, she will be 
the first Native American woman to serve as a Federal judge in 
Oklahoma.
  When Senator Lankford introduced Ms. Hill at her confirmation 
hearing, he called her ``an exceptionally impressive nominee'' and said 
that he and his staff ``have found her to be one of the smartest people 
in the room in just about any room she walks in.'' I agree on both 
counts. I am proud to support this nominee, and I urge my colleagues to 
join me.