[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 9, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S2678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Nomination of Anthony W. Mattivi

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm 
Anthony Wayne Mattivi to the U.S. District Court for the District of 
Kansas.
  While it is commendable that Mr. Mattivi is a long-time public 
servant, I have deep reservations that he can be impartial if confirmed 
to the bench.
  As the director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, KBI, Mr. 
Mattivi signed a 287(g) agreement to participate in Federal immigration 
enforcement and touted Kansas as being only the second State in the 
country to do so. Given ICE's cruel and inhumane tactics, that is 
nothing to brag about.
  I am also concerned that Mr. Mattivi will not treat criminal 
defendants fairly, given that he has repeatedly characterized as soft 
on crime decreasing or eliminating mandatory minimums.
  We have seen how outdated mandatory minimum policies stemming from 
the failed ``War on Drugs'' continue to impose lengthy, one-size-fits-
all sentences for many nonviolent drug offenses. They don't deter 
crime; instead, they overcrowd prisons and strain budgets.
  Lastly, Mr. Mattivi has demonstrated that he is too afraid to cross 
President Trump. When asked in written questions if he stood by his 
view that it was ``preposterous'' for President Trump to claim that he 
had issued a standing order to declassifying the documents he kept at 
Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Mattivi declined to answer.
  Given Mr. Mattivi's inability to demonstrate that he will be a 
neutral arbiter, I will oppose this nomination.