Newsroom
Recent Democrat Statement On Obstruction Of Judges ‘less Than Encouraging,’ Cornyn Says
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement Wednesday regarding the future of the President’s nominees to the federal bench following the Senate minority leader’s statement ‘to do the same thing’ to previously filibustered nominations:"When the President outlines his priorities in tonight’s State of the Union speech, it is my sincere hope that his comments on judicial nominations will be heard loud and clear. A partisan minority on the other side of the aisle has obstructed nominees through the unprecedented use of the filibuster—some for nearly four years. This must end."We know that while our friends on the other side of the aisle had an opportunity for self-examination and reappraisal on November 2, but it seems that despite the results of election, they still believe they haven’t been obstructionist enough. This is less than encouraging."Sadly, recent comments show that their leadership has been unable or unwilling to change their habits and their destructive approach to the nomination process. And as the Senate’s Democrat leader made clear on Tuesday, their caucus was not tempered by the results of the last two elections and plans ‘to do the same thing’ again this year. That is not the message the American people sent, and I believe the President will make that clear this evening."On December 23, President Bush announced his intention to renominate 20 individuals to the federal judiciary who did not receive up or down votes in the President’s first term. On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said "if they bring back the same judges we’re going to do the same thing."Sen. Cornyn is the only former judge on the committee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.