[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       NOMINATION OF NEIL GORSUCH

  Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, when his nomination comes to the floor 
next week, I will vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. 
This is my first time voting on a Supreme Court nominee, and I don't 
take the decision lightly. It is a lifetime appointment, after all, and 
the Court's rulings have shaped our country's history--for good and for 
ill--and will continue to shape our future. But after reading Judge 
Gorsuch's writings, meeting with him in person, and listening to his 
testimony, I can say with confidence that it is not a hard call. I 
believe Judge Gorsuch will be a fine addition to the Supreme Court.
  There is no denying Judge Gorsuch's distinctive qualifications. We 
all know his credentials: Columbia, Harvard law, and an Oxford 
doctorate to boot. He clerked for an appellate judge and two Supreme 
Court Justices. He had many years of experience in both private 
practice and in public service and, of course, over 10 years as an 
appellate judge. He possesses fine judicial temperament: highly 
erudite, highly accomplished, and highly regarded by those who know him 
best. It is no surprise, then, that the American Bar Association, in a 
unanimous vote, declared him ``well qualified'' for the job.
  While I wouldn't outsource our responsibilities to any advocacy 
organization, I would note that the minority leader himself once said 
the ABA rating is ``the gold standard by which judicial candidates are 
judged.''
  But, of course, Judge Gorsuch is not just filling any seat, but the 
seat once held by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Justice Scalia was a 
giant of American jurisprudence. Most Justices earn their place in 
history by writing opinions, giving voice to their colleagues, and 
speaking for the Court as a whole. Justice Scalia did that many times 
throughout his career, of course, but he did something more. He changed 
the way judges--both conservative and liberal--think about the law and 
defend their decisions. He reminded us all that a judge's job is to 
apply the law--including the Constitution, our most fundamental law--as 
written, to the case before him, not to rewrite it all together.
  Adhering to the law, even when the judge doesn't like the result, is 
the greatest public service that a judge can render, because to respect 
the rule of law is ultimately to respect the rule of the people.
  This is what Justice Scalia taught and what he inspired a whole 
generation of judges and lawyers to understand. As we prepare to fill 
his seat on the Supreme Court, let us also acknowledge that no man can 
fill his shoes. We honor the memory of Justice Scalia and we thank his 
wife, Maureen, and his whole family for sharing this great man with our 
country for so long.
  Judge Gorsuch is a child of the Scalia generation. He has long 
advocated for and followed the originalist judicial craft--one rooted 
in the text, structure, and history of our Constitution, which is to 
say that he respects the rule of law and he respects the people. 
Whether defending the religious liberty of the Little Sisters of the 
Poor or the Fourth Amendment rights of a regular household, he has 
shown a profound respect for the Constitution. I also think he has 
demonstrated throughout his career a firm independence of thought. He 
has had his influences and his mentors, his promoters and his critics, 
but I believe he will be his own man--as he should be.
  So I am pleased to announce my support for the next Associate Justice 
of the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch. I look forward to his 
confirmation next week.

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