[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19586]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       NOMINATION OF DON WILLETT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday the Senate advanced the 
nomination of Mr. Leonard Steven Grasz to be a judge on the Eighth 
Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Grasz has sterling credentials and strong 
support from the Nebraska legal community. I proudly voted to advance 
his nomination, and the Senate will confirm him soon.
  Next, we will vote to advance the nomination of another well-
qualified individual, Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett, to serve 
on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Justice Willett respects the 
rule of law and our foundational legal principles, and he will be a 
strong addition to the Fifth Circuit.
  His story is an inspirational one. Adopted at a young age and raised 
by a widowed mother in a town of 32 people, he was the first person in 
his family to graduate from high school. As our colleague Senator 
Cornyn said at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, ``Justice 
Willett's life [reflects] the best of Texas, and the best of America.''
  From these humble beginnings, Justice Willett has led a remarkable 
career. After graduating from Duke School of Law, he clerked for Judge 
Jerre Williams of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the panel he has 
now been nominated to join.
  He spent a short time in private practice before entering public 
service in then--Gov. George W. Bush's administration as a legal and 
policy adviser. When President Bush entered the White House, Justice 
Willett joined him as the Special Assistant to the President. In that 
role, he helped shape the domestic legal policy of the Bush 
administration, especially in the President's efforts to increase 
charitable activities in neighborhoods across the Nation.
  The next year, he became Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the 
Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy. There, he oversaw both 
civil and criminal policy initiatives, including what became the 
PROTECT Act of 2003, which increased law enforcement's ability to 
prevent and prosecute violent crimes against children.
  Afterward, Justice Willett returned to Texas to serve as the Deputy 
Attorney General for Legal Counsel. As the top legal aide to then-
Attorney General Greg Abbott, he advised the office on a wide variety 
of legal matters.
  In 2005, he was appointed to serve as a justice on the Texas Supreme 
Court. Elected to a full term in 2006 and reelected in 2012, Justice 
Willett has served with distinction on the Texas high court now for 
over a decade. During that time, he has ruled fairly and impartially.
  Four of his former colleagues on the Texas Supreme Court wrote a 
letter to the Judiciary Committee supporting Justice Willett's 
nomination. They wrote, ``His demonstrated belief is that the courts 
should enforce both constitutional rights and constitutional 
limitations and uphold the rule of law, but not enforce a personal 
agenda.''
  ``On occasion,'' they continued, ``we did not agree with each other 
or with him on the disposition of an appeal but we respected Don's 
opinions and never doubted his devotion to principle.''
  In addition, the retired Texas Supreme Court justice, Wallace 
Jefferson, recommended Justice Willett's nomination, writing that he 
will be ``a thoughtful, hardworking, diligent, and influential member 
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.''
  Justice Willett has also been recognized for his excellence by the 
Texas Review of Law and Politics, which named him its Distinguished 
Jurist of the Year in 2014.
  I would like to commend President Trump for nominating Justice 
Willett to the Fifth Circuit. Under Chairman Grassley's leadership, the 
Judiciary Committee has done an excellent job processing this 
nomination and many others.
  By joining the Fifth Circuit, Justice Willett will use his talents to 
continue to serve his State and his Nation. I look forward to advancing 
his nomination, and I urge my colleagues to join me in doing so.

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