[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S2488]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Nomination of Jeffrey M. Kuhlman

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm 
Jeffrey M. Kuhlman to the U.S. District Court for the District of 
Kansas.
  Mr. Kuhlman has only practiced law for 9 years, focusing primarily on 
the defense of government entities and employees.
  In one case, Mr. Kuhlman represented five juvenile detention officers 
who held 17-year-old Cedric Lofton in a prone position for nearly 40 
minutes. Cedric, a child in foster care who was experiencing a mental 
health crisis, went into cardiac arrest and died.
  Mr. Kuhlman claimed that the wrongful death suit should be dismissed 
because Cedric's death was his fault, arguing: ``He only died because 
he was fighting and because he was in an air deficit.''
  Mr. Kuhlman blamed a minor in the midst of a mental health crisis for 
his own death. I asked Mr. Kuhlman whether he regretted any arguments 
he made during this litigation. He responded with an unequivocal, 
``No.''
  Of Mr. Kuhlman's top 10 most significant cases, 4 involved 
representing law enforcement officers accused of using excessive force. 
In responses to written questions, he confirmed that he has never 
represented individuals harmed by law enforcement using excessive 
force.
  During his hearing, I asked Mr. Kuhlman about his work representing 
the Marion County Commission, County Sheriff and a sheriff's deputy in 
a lawsuit after local law enforcement raided the offices of the Marion 
County Record and related properties in August 2023.
  The incident received national news coverage and raised freedom of 
press concerns. The county paid the Record's publisher a $3 million 
settlement and provided a formal apology.
  During his hearing, Mr. Kuhlman said that he worked on several cases 
he believed received unfair media coverage. In light of these 
statements and his prior work on the Marion County Record case, I asked 
Mr. Kuhlman in written questions to identify those cases and explain 
why he believed the coverage was unfair.
  He declined to respond because he felt ``it would be improper to 
comment on news coverage from media outlets because . . . [there] may 
be instances where media outlets are involved in litigation in the 
District of Kansas.''
  Apparently, it is appropriate for Mr. Kuhlman to claim that some of 
the cases he worked on received unfair media coverage during his 
hearing, but it is inappropriate for him to identify those cases and 
explain why he believed the coverage was unfair in written questions. I 
find this to be conveniently evasive.
  For these reasons, I will oppose Mr. Kuhlman's nomination.

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