[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5764]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       NOMINATION OF NEIL GORSUCH

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, yesterday, as we all know, was a 
consequential day for the Senate. In the end, we restored to this body 
a tradition that Democrats first upset in 2003 by using a tool 
Democrats first employed in 2013. As a result, we will move to the 
confirmation of Judge Gorsuch shortly. He is going to make an 
incredible addition to the Court. He is going to make the American 
people proud.
  After all, at this point, a few things about this man seem beyond 
dispute. He has sterling credentials, an excellent record, and an ideal 
judicial temperament. He has independence of mind and a reputation for 
fairness. He has also earned plaudits from so many across the political 
spectrum.
  President Obama's former Acting Solicitor General lauded Judge 
Gorsuch as ``one of the most thoughtful and brilliant judges to have 
served our nation over the last century,'' while President Obama's 
legal mentor called Judge Gorsuch a ``brilliant, terrific guy who would 
do the Court's work with distinction.''
  An appointee of President Clinton's, Judge James Robertson, said 
Judge Gorsuch ``is superbly well prepared and well qualified to serve 
as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. There is no real dispute 
about that.''
  An appointee of President Carter's, Judge John Kane, perhaps summed 
it up best when he said: ``I'm not sure we could expect better [than 
Judge Gorsuch] or that better presently exists.'' In other words, no 
one is better.
  Of course, we all know what longtime Democrat and board member of the 
left-leaning American Constitution Society, David Frederick, had to say 
about Judge Gorsuch. ``The Senate should confirm him, because there is 
no principled reason to vote no''--``no principled reason to vote no.''
  There is a reason Neil Gorsuch enjoys the support of a bipartisan 
majority of the Senate. There is a reason that a bipartisan majority 
stands ready to confirm him today. He is an exceptional choice, and I 
am very much looking forward to confirming him today. Of course, I wish 
that important aspect of this process had played out differently. It 
didn't have to be this way. But today is a new day. I hope my 
Democratic friends will take this moment to reflect and, perhaps, 
consider a turning point in their outlook going forward.
  The Senate has a number of important issues to consider in the coming 
months. Each Member, if he or she chooses, can play a critical part in 
that process.
  I urge colleagues to consider the role they can play, and I ask them 
to consider what we have been able to achieve in years past by working 
together, including the numerous bipartisan accomplishments of the last 
Congress, because, as we all know, the Senate does more than confirm 
Supreme Court nominees, although I sure am looking forward to 
confirming this one.

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