[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 174 (Tuesday, October 21, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S7697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the clerk will 
report the next nomination.
  The bill clerk read the nomination of William W. Mercer, of Montana, 
to be United States District Judge for the District of Montana.


                    Nomination of William W. Mercer

   Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today the Senate will vote to confirm 
William Mercer to the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.
  I will vote in opposition to Mr. Mercer's confirmation to a lifetime 
appointment on the Federal bench. There are several reasons why I 
cannot support his nomination.
  While serving as a member of the Montana House of Representatives, 
Mr. Mercer opposed a bill designed to end Montana's 3-year statute of 
limitations for civil lawsuits by sexual abuse victims. He said that 
eliminating the statute of limitations was a ``very bad idea.'' Victims 
disagreed, calling changes to the bill he proposed a ``total sellout in 
favor of child molesters and insurance companies.''
  And, while serving as the U.S. attorney for the District of Montana, 
Mr. Mercer was scolded by a Federal judge for ``pursing statistics'' 
rather than justice.
  I am also deeply troubled by Mr. Mercer's record as a senior official 
at the Justice Department during the George W. Bush administration, 
where he played a key role in the partisan U.S. attorney firing 
scandal.
  He said that the firings were done ``so that the Republican Party 
would have more future candidates for the federal bench and future 
political positions.''
  We need lifetime appointees who are devoted to the rule of law and 
the Constitution, not to partisan politics.
  I cannot support his nomination, and I urge my colleagues to join me 
in opposing this nominee.