‘One of the Most Impressive, Stunningly Qualified Nominees in Our Nation’s History’
‘The American people are sick of the display that’s been put on here in the United States Senate in the guise of a confirmation process. The FBI is finishing up a supplemental background investigation. It will soon add this information to Judge Kavanaugh’s file for Senators’ consideration. This is the standard practice. Then, pursuant to last week’s agreement of a delay no longer than one week, the Senate will vote on this nomination this week.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh:
“I think it’s safe to say the national spectacle the professional left has created around Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation process has now reached some kind of fever pitch. It has been 17 days since Dr. Ford’s confidential correspondence was leaked to the press. Seventeen days of a feeding frenzy on Judge Kavanaugh and his family unlike anything we have seen in recent memory.
“Since then, a literal mudslide of wild, uncorroborated accusations has poured out -- each more outlandish than the last. And this mudslide has been actively embraced, urged on, and capitalized upon by Democrats inside this chamber and organized far-left special interests outside it. It hasn’t been about getting to the truth or giving anyone a fair hearing. It has seemingly been about one thing: The far left’s hunger to bring down Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination by any means necessary.
“If facts and evidence couldn’t get the job done then intimidation tactics and bullying would have to do. Sometimes, this intimidation campaign has been aimed at the nominee. Colleagues including my friend the Democratic Leader have tried to get Judge Kavanaugh to withdraw from this process because of these uncorroborated and sometimes ridiculous allegations. And when that didn’t work? Then the far-left tried to bully and intimidate members of this body -- Republican United States Senators.
“One of our colleagues and his family were effectively run out of a restaurant in recent days. Another reported having protestors physically block his car door. And some have seen organized far-left protestors camp out at their homes. I’m not suggesting we’re the victims here. But I want to make it clear to these people who are chasing my members around the hall here, or harassing them at the airports, or going to their homes. We will not be intimidated by these people. There is no chance in the world that they’re going to scare us out of doing our duty. I don’t care how many members they chase, how many people they harass here in the halls. I want to make one thing perfectly clear: we will not be intimidated by these people. This is all part of the organized effort to delay, obstruct, and intimidate those of us who will be voting this week.
“A few days ago, I did something I rarely do: I offered a prediction. I predicted that here, in the last few days before the Senate will vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation, the Democratic conference would continue to make good on their leader’s promise and fight this nomination with everything they’ve got. I predicted that, on a dime, the very supplemental background investigation for which my Democratic friends had clamored would suddenly become insufficient. That no matter what accommodations were made, no matter what agreements were reached, Senate Democrats would find more excuses to continue moving the goalposts one more time.
“Granted, this wasn’t exactly a radical prediction. This body and this nation have spent months watching my friends across the aisle grasp at every imaginable excuse to delay this process and damage this nominee. So I felt pretty safe saying the last goalposts would soon be on the move once again. But even I wasn’t sure it would happen this quickly.
“Let’s start with the Democratic Leader and the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee. In a letter released on September 23, they suggested that the FBI had ample time to conduct a supplemental investigation before the hearing that was scheduled for just four days later. They insisted that an inquiry would -- quote -- ‘not take a ‘tremendous amount of time.’ The Democratic Leader brushed aside the notion that this—the seventh background investigation of Judge Kavanaugh—would delay the process, saying ‘it will take only a few days.’ Well, that was before we agreed last Friday to delay proceedings no more than one week to accommodate just such an inquiry.
“Naturally, we are now hearing a different tune. Yesterday, the Ranking Member stated her view that voting this Friday on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination -- as planned -- would be, I quote, ‘too soon.’ There go those goalposts again. Moving right on down. In that same letter, the Democratic Leader and the senior Senator from California called for this supplemental investigation because -- quote -- ‘conducting background investigations on nominees has long been the FBI’s standard practice.’
“Standard practice. Here’s what standard practice means: The FBI conducts interviews, prepares a careful report, and makes it available for Senators to review. Standard practice does not mean what the Democratic Leader decided to demand for the first time yesterday, now that the FBI is concluding its review. You get the picture. As they conclude the review, it’s not enough. That we have yet another delay so FBI agents are made to appear for in-person briefings and Democrats can cross-examine these agents to see if they’re satisfied with how they did their job. Anybody surprised about this? There go those goalposts again.
“Well, guess what. Our Democratic colleagues have made it abundantly clear they will never, ever be satisfied. Not ever. Does anyone really think that the same people who said any nominee of this president would result ‘in the destruction of the Constitution’ will be satisfied? Does anyone really think that the same people who called Judge Kavanaugh ‘evil’ long before they heard one word of testimony from anyone will be satisfied? Does anyone really think that the same people who said their goal is to delay this nomination past the election will be satisfied?
“To ask the question is to answer it. If my friends across the aisle had their way, the goalposts on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination would be in another time zone by now. My Democratic colleagues are quickly running out of material. One of their last efforts seems to be the new argument that, notwithstanding whether or not these allegations can be corroborated in any way, the real crime here is that Judge Kavanaugh stood up for his family and took umbrage at this disgraceful spectacle. He’s now expected to witness this disgraceful spectacle and not get upset about it. I would ask any of my colleagues, how would you feel if your entire reputation had been destroyed in this mudslide? For weeks now, a national media feeding frenzy has dragged Judge Kavanaugh and his family through the mud. He has been subjected to the most vile and disgusting accusations. His wife has been threatened. His young daughters traumatized.
“In many instances my Democratic colleagues have ushered on these absurdly disgusting accusations and tried to give them a veneer of credibility, specifically citing them as a reason why Judge Kavanaugh should not be confirmed. And now, those same Democratic Senators have the temerity to say Judge Kavanaugh disqualified himself for the Supreme Court because he got a little testy at the hearing. Because he told them how much damage these accusations have caused him and his family.
“Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t want to meet the man or woman who wouldn’t be frustrated and angered by a coordinated strategy to destroy their good name on the altar of partisan politics. The Senate has received an incredible volume of testimony about Judge Kavanaugh’s exemplary judicial temperament.
“We’ve heard from the faculty of his alma mater, who have called him: ‘a fair-minded jurist who believes in the rule of law’ and ‘commands wide and deep respect’ among his legal peers. And from his former law clerks, who say, quote: ‘He listens carefully to the views of his colleagues and clerks, even – indeed, especially – when they differ from his own.’ Yet some still prioritize partisan point-scoring ahead of Judge Kavanaugh’s actual record. We have heard overwhelming testimony that Judge Kavanaugh’s time on the federal bench has been defined by equanimity, even-handedness, and fair treatment of all parties.
“It’s time to put this embarrassing spectacle behind us. The American people are sick of the display that’s been put on here in the United States Senate in the guise of a confirmation process. The FBI is finishing up a supplemental background investigation. It will soon add this information to Judge Kavanaugh’s file for Senators’ consideration. This is the standard practice. Then, pursuant to last week’s agreement of a delay no longer than one week, the Senate will vote on this nomination this week.
“When we do, we’ll be voting on one of the most impressive, most stunningly qualified Supreme Court nominees in our nation’s history. We’ll be voting to confirm a new Supreme Court justice who possesses sterling academic credentials, widely-acknowledged legal brilliance, an exemplary judicial temperament, and a proven commitment to complete fairness on the bench. That is exactly what the Senate will do this week.”
Related Issues: Judicial Nominations, Nominations, Supreme Court, Senate Democrats
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