[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 60 (Thursday, April 3, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2147-S2148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



             Nominations of Dean Sauer and Harmeet Dhillon

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote on the 
nominations of Dean John Sauer and Harmeet Dhillon, President Trump's 
nominees for Solicitor General and Assistant Attorney General for the 
Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.
  The Solicitor General represents the United States in the highest 
Court of the land, the Supreme Court. Mr. Sauer's failure to comply 
with court orders and his refusal to recuse himself from pending Trump 
matters render him unfit for this role.
  The Civil Rights Division--often called the ``crown jewel'' of the 
Justice Department--enforces landmark laws that prohibit discrimination 
and protect the right to vote. Ms. Dhillon's record makes it all too 
clear that she is not the right person to lead this division.

[[Page S2148]]

  Mr. Sauer's nomination is a danger to the rule of law. At his 
confirmation hearing, I asked him a very simple question that any 
first-year law student should be able to answer, let alone a nominee 
seeking Senate confirmation.
  When I asked him whether an elected official should be allowed to 
defy a Federal court order, Mr. Sauer said, ``Generally, if there's a 
direct court order that binds a federal or state official, they should 
follow it.''
  I was appalled that someone seeking to become the ``Tenth Justice,'' 
as the Solicitor General is commonly known, would take such a position.
  As my colleague Senator Kennedy warned Mr. Sauer and another Justice 
Department nominee who also refused to commit to following court orders 
``Don't ever, ever, take the position that you're not going to follow 
the order of a federal court. Ever.''
  But that is not my only concern with Mr. Sauer. Both he and Ms. 
Dhillon are part of the growing list of the President's personal 
lawyers who have been nominated for senior DOJ roles.
  Ms. Dhillon and her law firm have represented the President as an 
individual and his campaigns on numerous occasions, pocketing more than 
$8 million in legal fees.
  And Mr. Sauer recently filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme 
Court on behalf of the President, urging the Court to stay the 
effective date of the law that bans TikTok.
  During his hearing, Mr. Sauer repeatedly refused to commit to 
recusing himself from matters connected to his representation of 
President Trump, including a current case appealing the $364 million 
judgment entered against the President in New York.
  Instead, Mr. Sauer only offered to consult with ``the appropriate 
Department of Justice ethics officials.'' This gives me little 
reassurance since the administration recently forced out the Justice 
Department's senior apolitical career ethics officials.
  And Ms. Dhillon's loyalty to the President goes beyond a typical 
attorney-client relationship. She has repeatedly questioned the 
legitimacy of the 2020 Presidential election.
  In November 2020, she tweeted, ``STOP THE STEAL!'' and encouraged her 
followers to donate to President Trump's so-called election defense 
fund.
  During her hearing, Ms. Dhillon doubled down on her election 
denialism, repeating her dubious claims about supposed irregularities 
and so-called ``voter integrity.'' And she refused to admit that 
President Biden won the 2020 election.
  Ms. Dhillon also has a long history of seeking to restrict civil 
rights, which is deeply concerning. She has criticized key provisions 
of the Voting Rights Act and supported laws that make it harder to 
vote.
  And she has an extensive history of hostility toward the LGBTQ+ 
community, especially transgender Americans.
  It is the duty of the head of the Civil Rights Division to protect 
the civil rights of every American. I cannot and will not support a 
nominee whose record suggests she is more likely to attack civil rights 
than defend them.
  And it is the Solicitor General's duty to represent the U.S. 
Government before the Supreme Court. I do not believe Mr. Sauer will 
put the American people's interests above President Trump's.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing these nominees.