WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today took to the Senate floor to voice his support for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch and to call for a swift confirmation. Roberts highlighted his extensive experience and service in the 10^th circuit, which includes Kansas.

“The president made an extraordinary selection,” said Roberts. “Judge Gorsuch currently serves in the 10^th Circuit, which includes my home state of Kansas. Our state has seen firsthand how Judge Gorsuch interprets the law. He has had an outstanding judicial record while serving on the court. What’s more, he is highly respected and supported by individuals in the judicial community who align on all sides of the political spectrum.

“He is a judge who follows the law, applying the text of the Constitution and statutes impartially. I am hopeful the minority will recognize the superlative qualities Judge Neil Gorsuch possesses and provide him with a fair and swift confirmation process.”

To download Roberts’ remarks, click here. To watch his speech, click the image below.

Roberts went on to highlight the recent rhetoric that has occured in the Senate since President Trump took office. He said, “We have fallen from bipartisan deliberation, worthy of public opinion and support, to engaging with poisonous arrows of political procrastination. With the nomination of Judge Gorsuch, we have an opportunity to fix this sorry state of affairs and restore comity to the United States Senate. The people of this great nation deserve nothing less.”

Roberts’ full remarks are below:

Mr. President, today I rise to speak in support of the president’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch.

Simply put, the president made an extraordinary selection. Currently, Judge Gorsuch serves on the Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, which includes my home state of Kansas.

Our state has seen first-hand how Judge Gorsuch interprets the law. He has had an outstanding judicial record while serving on the court. What’s more, he is highly respected and supported by individuals in the judicial community who align on all sides of the political spectrum. Except, inexplicably, the United States Senate.

Judge Gorsuch’s qualifications are not only noteworthy, but extremely impressive. He graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He received a doctorate in Legal Philosophy from Oxford, as a recipient of the Marshall Scholarship, one of the most prestigious scholar programs in the country. He has litigation experience from his time as a law partner. And he has clerked for not one, but two, Supreme Court Justices.

Examining his record during his time on the 10th Circuit gives us insight into Judge Gorsuch’s approach to interpreting the law. When we read his opinions, we know he is a judge who follows the law, applying the text of the Constitution and statutes impartially. 

Of primordial importance to this body is his critique of the executive branch’s tendency to assume the roles of the judicial and legislative branches.

No matter which political party controls the executive branch, this body must protect its ability to legislate and create laws. The Founding Fathers intended for the separation of powers to remain inviolate.

Judge Gorsuch understands the role of the judicial branch and the significance of maintaining that balance of power. He has made it clear he will not legislate from the bench. I repeat, he has made it clear he will not legislate from the bench. And that might just be the problem for those who would like to vote for a judge would legislate from the bench.

I, along with many of my colleagues here in the Senate today, confirmed Judge Gorsuch over ten years ago. Judge Gorsuch’s record was so non-controversial the Senate unanimously supported his nomination. That includes the Minority Leader Schumer, and then Senators Obama, Clinton, and Biden.

I repeat, Judge Gorsuch has received support from across the political spectrum. His judicial record over the past ten years has made him even more deserving of the Senate’s full support.

The American people went to the polls in November knowing the next president would have the distinct honor of nominating the next Supreme Court justice. The American people have spoken. As the Senate, it is now our responsibility to see through this nomination and appoint Judge Gorsuch to the high court.

The Wall Street Journal summed up what is happening within its editorial page today in pointing out Senators want Judge Gorsuch to declare how he would vote in specific areas of the law – questions that every Supreme Court nominee declines to answer.

Quoting from the editorial, “At the 1967 hearings for Thurgood Marshall, then Senator Edward Kennedy called it a sound legal precedent that any nominee for the Supreme Court would have to defer any comments on any matters which are either before the court or very likely to appear before the court,”               

The Journal’s editorial went on to say that in the  1993 confirmation hearings, Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg emphasized, “A judge sworn to decide impartially can offer no forecasts, no hints; for that would show not only disregard for the specifics of the particular case, it would also display disdain for the entire judicial process.”               

I regret to tell Ted Kennedy and Ruth Bader Ginsburg that profound advice does not apply today.  One of my colleagues serving on the Judiciary Committee pretty well summed the dilemma we have in the Senate, when he said:

                “If you fail to be explicit and forthcoming, the committee would have to assume his views were in line with Mr. Trump’s.”

And, there is the rub.  Not President Trump – Mr. Trump. Judge Gorsuch has written 789 opinions with only 15 dissents from other judges!  The apparent burr in the Democrat’s saddle has nothing to do with Judge Gorsuch or his qualifications. The problem is Mr. Trump is now President Trump.               

When will this end, when will get back to what is referred to as “regular order”?  That question lies squarely with my colleagues in the minority.

I am really disheartened to hear the rhetoric coming from across the aisle in the days since the new president took office. The minority has taken extraordinary lengths to extend the confirmation process of the president’s nominees.

From shying away from our Constitutional responsibilities and not voting on nominees in committee hearings to using unprecedented amounts of time to speak on the Senate floor disapproving of the president and his nominees. These stall tactics are unbefitting of the world’s greatest deliberative body.

We have fallen from bipartisan deliberation, worthy of public opinion and support, to engaging with poisonous arrows of political procrastination.               

With the nomination of Judge Gorsuch, we have an opportunity to fix the sorry state of affairs and restore comity to the United States Senate. The people of this great nation deserve nothing less.

I am hopeful the minority will recognize the superlative qualities Judge Neil Gorsuch possesses and provide him with a fair and swift confirmation process. Hope springs eternal. Even in the United States Senate.

# # #