▶ 0:18:56Chair Grassley: Good morning. On today's agenda, with seven nominations, the nomination of kurt wall to be U.S. attorney is listed for the first time and will be held over.
▶ 0:19:11Chair Grassley: We will vote today on whitney hermandorfer, nominee for the circuit judge, sixth circuit, joshua divine, district judge on eastern and western districts of missouri, zachary bluestone, maria lanahan, and cristian stevens to be district judges of the eastern district of missouri. We will also vote on U.S.
▶ 0:19:43Chair Grassley: Attorney nominees bart mckay davis, davis an david metcalf. This congress, I have heard my democratic colleagues attacking trump nominees as presidential lawyers. We heard the same yesterday, no matter how the nominee answers, my colleagues seem to have already made up their minds.
▶ 0:20:12Chair Grassley: No answer appears to be satisfactory. In light of this common refrain, I was surprised by what was set on monday, that their own part is -- at their own partisan spotlight hearing. In the senate's remarks he posted that democrats put "progressive judges" on the bench. He boasted about their rulings against the trump administration .
▶ 0:20:42Chair Grassley: He said "our people" hour -- are the first line of defense. Let me say it again, "our people ." the hypocrisy of the other side attacking nominees as beholden to trump, when their own leader says he basically owns their nominees, is in fact breathtaking. Judges shouldn't be any one's people. They aren't supposed to advance policy preferences.
▶ 0:21:12Chair Grassley: They aren't a part of congress or the executive branch. They are a part of a separate branch of government insulated from politics and policymaking and they must be dedicated to following the rule of law, whether they agree with the outcomes or not. That is what I expect of judges, regardless of the party of the president who appointed them. Democrats have also repeatedly brought up the issue of following court orders.
▶ 0:21:45Chair Grassley: This dispute is made up. Everyone agrees that lawful court orders should be obeyed. The president and his administration has done it. Do you know who actually did ignore a court order? Judge murphy, a democratic nominated judge judge confirmed in the lame-duck session last year. He defied a supreme court ruling and continued enforcing related orders anyway.
▶ 0:22:16Chair Grassley: Fortunately, our nominees today have a different perspective. They are dedicated to the rule of law and committed to the constitution. I am confident they will abide by binding decisions of higher courts. Last congress, according to the chairman at that time, my friend, senator durbin, over 80% of biden's nominees were advanced on a bipartisan basis.
▶ 0:22:47Chair Grassley: So, I hope that we have the same bipartisan support today, because we have got some truly excellent, well-qualified nominees. Whitney hermandorfer, nominated to the sixth circuit, demonstrated why she has been widely praised. Similarly, the district court nominees also have extra -- excellent credentials and experience and performed well in their hearing.
▶ 0:23:14Chair Grassley: All of these nominations have demonstrated their commitment to the rule of law and judicial independence that are essential in our constitutional system. I will be voting for all of them and urge my colleagues to do likewise. Senator durbin?
▶ 0:23:30Sen. Durbin: Let me begin with a point of personal privilege, thinking my deputy general counsel, jeff hansen, for his service to the staff in the committee. After seven years, this is his last markup. Beginning his professional life as an electrical engineer, he obtained a law degree from georgetown and left behind a lucrative career in private practice to join the committee in 2018, serving as chief counsel.
▶ 0:24:07Sen. Durbin: And served on antitrust intellectual bankruptcy federal court issues. Well-known on both sides of the aisle for bipartisanship, he's been my lead staffer on bipartisan efforts to hold big tech accountable for the role of online sexual exploitation. Jeff has been a mentor and friend to many on the staff and his commitment to his colleagues is only exceeded by his love for his wife and daughter.
▶ 0:24:35Sen. Durbin: He proudly wears the friendship bracelet she made him and loves to keep his colleagues updated on her soccer games and ballet recitals. I wish jeff the best in his future endeavors and I hope you will join me in thanking him. [applause] Mr.
▶ 0:24:59Sen. Durbin: Chairman, yesterday the committee held a hearing on a nominee to the third circuit and learned nothing that would give us comfort that Mr. bovee isn't simply on a maga mission in which trump himself posted that he would do anything necessary to make america great again. The president's candor belies the failing memory of Mr.
▶ 0:25:28Sen. Durbin: Bovie and it is abundantly clear that the president nominated him as a reward for his loyalty and expects this to continue. Mr. bovie led the effort to benefit the trump allies and partners the trump enemies. He has fired dozens of career prosecutors who had the audacity to work on january 6 cases.
▶ 0:25:58Sen. Durbin: He told me that they were fired because they were hired by the biden administration and their involvement in january 6, which he called "a grave national injustice perpetrated on the american people." because of the trump desire to paint career prosecutors as
▶ 0:26:28Sen. Durbin: Losing their careers, this is a shameful display of retribution. One day before the hearing, a respected 14 year career justice department attorney filed a whistleblower disclosure with the committee. He did not leak it. He published it and sent it to us. He had defended the first trump administration immigration policies in court and was promoted by the second trump administration to lead a defense of their immigration policies. In his complaint he recounted that Mr.
▶ 0:26:57Sen. Durbin: Bove said that the justice department might have to say "eff you" to court orders. When asked about this yesterday, Mr. bove said he couldn't recall if he made this statement. F-bombs are reportedly not notable or memorable in his legal career.
▶ 0:27:26Sen. Durbin: In dismissing the case against eric adams, it demonstrates that he's willing to pursue the trump agenda without regard for the rule of law. Mr. bove had no credible expedition for overruling several prosecutors, including the U.S. attorney herself, a staunch concert -- conservative who was appointed by trump. And by klobuchar, Mr.
▶ 0:27:46Sen. Durbin: Bove could not openly acknowledge that the trump administration sought to strike a corrupt bargain to drop charges against mayor adams in exchange for cooperation on the trump mass peak deportation campaign. It appears they believed Mr. adams was too busy campaigning to be held accountable for corruption. Mr.
▶ 0:28:07Sen. Durbin: Bove succeeded in showing trump in this committee that he is a true maga loyalists, drawing the attorney general to our hearing. As the president ramps up his attacks against judges who rule against him, he has taken it upon himself to nominate loyalists who will rubberstamp his agenda. [indiscernible]
▶ 0:28:30Chair Grassley: Speak to the nominee.
▶ 0:28:33Sen. Durbin: Last month, the president announced whitney hermandorfer, the first judicial nominee of his second term, shortly before hand he had demanded the impeachment of a federal judge ruled against the administration and called him "a radical left lunatic, a troublemaker and agitator." I appreciate your admonition that at the spotlight hearing something we said about judges, be careful of the language we
▶ 0:29:04Sen. Durbin: Use, but to call judges radical left lunatic's, troublemakers and agitators, and then refer to members of the bench as usa hating judges, monsters who want our country to go to hell, that is hardly temperate language. The presidential inflammatory language is a part of his ongoing effort to intimidate the federal judiciary and it reveals what he values most and a judge. It is not experience, temperament, or independence.
▶ 0:29:32Sen. Durbin: What he values his loyalty and a willingness to rule in favor of him and his administration. His nomination of whitney hermandorfer shows that he expects her to be a reliable ally on the sixth circuit for years to come. Whitney hermandorfer's record suggests that Mr. trump has good reason for that expectation. Her maga credentials are intact.
▶ 0:29:54Sen. Durbin: In her current role she has argued in support of the president's unconstitutional executive order to remove birthright citizenship. This executive order was blocked by a judge appointed by ronald reagan, who said "I have been on the bench for four decades and I can't remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this, a blatantly unconstitutional order,"'s the appointee about the executive order.
▶ 0:30:22Sen. Durbin: Whitney hermandorfer has signed briefs supporting the presidential efforts to fire inspector generals at agencies and she has refused to acknowledge that trump lost the 2020 election. Moreover, miss hermandorfer has chosen to litigate other politically charged issues like the antidiscrimination policies of the biden administration.
▶ 0:30:48Sen. Durbin: She has strong ties to a number of right wing organizations, including the federal society -- federalist society and the taneo network, required of key nominees. Her record is extreme, but it is very short. A recurring theme in the first batch of nominees.
▶ 0:31:07Sen. Durbin: Miss hermandorfer graduated from law school in 2015, meaning she has less than 10 years of legal experience and in light of her four years as a law clerk, she only practiced for 60 years it is now headed to the appellate bench. That lack of experience is a serious concern as she is now considered for a lifetime experience.
▶ 0:31:31Sen. Durbin: Given her apparent willingness to support even the most unlawful efforts of the trump administration and I opposer nomination.
▶ 0:31:38Chair Grassley: Senator blackburn?
▶ 0:31:42Senator Blackburn: I choose to speak in support of miss hermandorfer. I am so pleased that we are bringing forward her nomination this morning and I thank you for that. She is the president's first judicial nominee of his cycle -- second term and there is no one more qualified to take on that important role of appellate judge.
▶ 0:32:08Senator Blackburn: I could go on and on about her qualifications for the sixth circuit, a top grad from princeton, first in her law school class, editor-in-chief of "the law review," and in private practice she specialized in appellate litigation and regulatory and administrative law she has been a law professor and on top of that she clerk for four federal judges, including three supreme court justices,
▶ 0:32:38Senator Blackburn: Alito, barrett, and judge kavanaugh when he was on the D.C. circuit judge. She serves tennessee admirably as the director of strategic litigation. There is no doubt that she will serve our nation well on the sixth circuit. She will be a tireless advocate for our constitution. She will apply the law as it is written and not rewrite it.
▶ 0:33:08Senator Blackburn: She is qualified to serve and I urge my colleagues to vote to move her nomination to the floor.
▶ 0:33:13Chair Grassley: The clerk will call the roll. [clerk calls the role] l[ ]
▶ 0:33:58Chair Grassley: Aye. >> [indiscernible]
▶ 0:34:03Chair Grassley: The nomination will be favorably reported. Now we go to the nomination of zachary bluestone. The clerk will call the roll.
▶ 0:34:12Sen. Durbin: Mr. chair? Could I have just a minute?
▶ 0:34:16Chair Grassley: Yes, go ahead.
▶ 0:34:17Sen. Durbin: Again, this nominee lacks the experience to serve a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. He has seven years of experience, more than the last nominee, seven since law school. Lucky for him, the justice department under the attorney general refuses to provide the american bar association with materials on nominees.
▶ 0:34:40Sen. Durbin: They stated they could not issue a rating based on receiving insufficient information to evaluate the nominee, but it is obvious that what they could have said if you have been able to look at his record in full, does not have the experience necessary to handle the federal bench.
▶ 0:34:58Sen. Durbin: Why is it that we have to have this secret handshake of organizations endorsing them in the promise of each one of these judges to never, ever acknowledge that donald trump actually lost the election in 2020. You cannot acknowledge that, or you are gone, that is the end of your maga future. It would be irresponsible to support this nomination and I urge my colleagues to vote no.
▶ 0:35:21Chair Grassley: The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. graham? Mr. cornyn? Mr. lee? Mr. cruz? Mr. hawley? Mr. tillis? Mr. kennedy? Ms. blackburn? Mr. schmitt? Ms. britt? Ms. moody? Mr. durbin? >> no. >> Mr. whitehouse? Ms. klobuchar? >> no by proxy. Mr. coons?
▶ 0:35:52Chair Grassley: >> no by proxy. Mr. blumenthal? >> no by proxy. Ms. hirono? Mr. booker? Mr. padilla? Mr. welch? Mr. schiff? Chairman?
▶ 0:36:04Chair Grassley: Aye. The nomination will be favorably reported to the floor. The next nominee is joshua divine. The clerk will call the roll.
▶ 0:36:18Sen. Durbin: Mr. chairman, if I could have a minute?
▶ 0:36:21Chair Grassley: All the time you want.
▶ 0:36:23Sen. Durbin: Joshua divine is 39 -- 34 years old and more experienced now come nine years since law school. He has taken extreme divides on ballot accessing reproductive rights, referring to himself as a "zealot" for the anti-choice movement in his zealotry has been on full display as the missouri attorney general, challenging women's ability to access the drug mifepristone, undermining the decision of
▶ 0:36:53Sen. Durbin: Missouri voters to codify abortion access into their state constitution. He previously wrote "because we know a genetically unique human comes into existence by fertilization, abortion should not be ethically permitted." taken at face value, it appears, though he wouldn't answer the question when asked, that he opposes in vitro fertilization. I asked him to explain these comments and he said that it was political and he didn't have to.
▶ 0:37:22Sen. Durbin: Apparently a fan of elite democracy, he has also argued in favor of re-imposing literacy tests for voting. He argued that individuals who "are not informed about issues or platforms have no business voting." such tests are a racist relic of the jim crow era that were specifically used to prevent minorities from casting ballots. No one believes a racist jim crow laws should be revived and belongs in the federal bench.
▶ 0:37:54Sen. Durbin: >> Mr. chairman?
▶ 0:37:57Chair Grassley: Senator blumenthal?
▶ 0:38:02Senator Blumenthal: Just a quick note on what senator durbin just said. In my view, these nominees are really outside the mainstream. They are zealots. Ideological sense, really depriving them of the kind of mainstream support and credibility required of nominees to be confirmed by this committee. On birthright citizenship, whitney hermandorfer.
▶ 0:38:34Senator Blumenthal: On reproductive freedoms, almost all of these nominees. On so many other issues. These individuals are literally outside of the mainstream. They are zealots. Their lack of scientific rigor, their problematic methodology, and undisclosed bias really disqualifies them from appointment to this lifetime position on the federal bench. So, I will be voting against all of them.
▶ 0:39:05Senator Blumenthal: I think we can do better as a nation. Thank you, Mr..
▶ 0:39:08Chair Grassley: The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. chairman, I want to speak on this.
▶ 0:39:13Chair Grassley: Please do. >> I have a real problem with Mr. devine, I think he goes far beyond being conservative. He's extreme. You know, him talking about this being a college of discretion, I don't get that. I was in college, you work in college. The views that he expressed then and still adheres to I think are really, really extreme and have no place on the bench.
▶ 0:39:43Chair Grassley: Senator durbin mentioned a few, but the literacy test? Seriously? Having a requirement for literacy tests, advocating that? Where does that come from? It is jim crow, I know it, but we thought that was behind us.
▶ 0:40:05Chair Grassley: His hostility about homosexuality and the things that he said about that that really vilify homosexuality, it's terrible. He defended a local dj who decided to play a speech of a white supremacist and avowed nazi on martin luther king day. That's not funny at all.
▶ 0:40:32Chair Grassley: How in the world are we having a person who did that be considered to be a judge? It's not right. You shouldn't do that. We are not going to get the judges that we want, but we can support judges that have a commitment to the rule of law and have demonstrated a lack of prejudice. This one is over the top. I'm going to be voting against him. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 0:41:01Chair Grassley: The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. graham? Mr. cornyn? Mr. lee? Mr. cruz? Mr. hawley? Mr. tillis? Mr. kennedy? Ms. blackburn? Mr. schmitt? Ms. britt? Ms. moody? Mr. durbin? Mr. whitehouse? Ms. klobuchar? Mr. coons? Mr. blumenthal? Ms. hirono?
▶ 0:41:32Chair Grassley: Mr. booker? Mr. padilla? Mr. welch? Mr. schiff? Senator grassley?
▶ 0:41:43Chair Grassley: Aye.
▶ 0:41:45Chair Grassley: The nomination will be favorably reported. Now, to maria lanahan.
▶ 0:41:55Sen. Durbin: Mr. chairman?
▶ 0:41:57Chair Grassley: Please proceed.
▶ 0:41:59Sen. Durbin: Serving in the missouri attorney general's office, miss lenihan has been at the forefront of litigating politically charged issues, including restricting access reproductive lights. She has served as the counsel of record in missouri in an effort to restrict assets to mifepristone -- access to mifepristone, despite the decades of peer-reviewed research that have found it to be safe.
▶ 0:42:31Sen. Durbin: She argued that missouri has standing to bring this case because access to abortion medication is, "depressing expected birth rate -- birth rates for teenage mothers." claiming that missouri2 would be injured by the loss of potential population, leading to a diminishment of political representation and a loss of federal funds." those were her arguments.
▶ 0:42:58Sen. Durbin: She argued in briefs that abortion medications are dangerous and claimed in response to written questions that she was not aware of more than 60 studies supporting the fda approval of mifepristone and her response to other questions indicate she is unwilling to clerk -- cross the trump maga line, refusing to say who is entitled to protection under the first amendment and whether every individual in the united states is entitled to due process and what the duty of
▶ 0:43:30Sen. Durbin: Candor is to the federal courts. Her refusal made it easy for me to refuse and I asked and I asked consent that this letter be given into the record in opposition.
▶ 0:43:40Chair Grassley: Without opposition, so recorded. The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. chairman, I'm sorry, I don't think you can see me when I raise my hand. May I speak on this nominee? Miss -- Ms. lanahan has spent her career working to dismantle and rollback civil rights laws, not uphold them.
▶ 0:44:05Chair Grassley: When she worked at the missouri attorney general's office, she filed an antichoice lawsuit in texas instead of in the district in missouri. Why should we confirm someone to a district court that she judge shopped away from?
▶ 0:44:22Chair Grassley: She is an active network of a network associated with leonard leo, meant to serve as "a pipeline" to place conservative positions of influence and crush liberal dominance." I am voting no on her. By the way, I wanted to, I raise my hand regarding Mr.
▶ 0:44:46Chair Grassley: Devine, and I want to note that I asked for the record questions whether it was important to protect witness safety in criminal proceedings, whether that was important and whether protecting court staff and personnel from harm by litigants and their supporters is important. He refused to answer. All he had to say was yes, that's important, and he refused to answer that. I wanted to make that point, I had raised my hand. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 0:45:16Chair Grassley: The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. graham? Mr. cornyn? Mr. lee? Mr. cruz? Mr. hawley? Mr. tillis? Mr. kennedy? Ms. blackburn? Mr. schmitt? Ms. britt? Ms. moody? Mr. durbin? Mr. whitehouse? Ms. klobuchar? Mr. coons? Mr. blumenthal?
▶ 0:45:47Chair Grassley: Ms. hirono? Mr. booker? Mr. padilla? Mr. welch? Mr. schiff? Chairman?
▶ 0:46:01Chair Grassley: Aye. The nominee will be reported. Now, we have cristian stevens.
▶ 0:46:12Sen. Durbin: May I speak, Mr. chairman?
▶ 0:46:15Chair Grassley: Yes.
▶ 0:46:16Sen. Durbin: Cristian stevens defended the 100 to one discrepancy between crack and powder cocaine. Given the justification for the disparity and its devastating impact on marginalized communities in the harm it has caused in the justice system, I asked him if he stood by the law review article today.
▶ 0:46:40Sen. Durbin: He claimed he was merely citing the position of the proponents to justify his statement that there be evidence to suggest that some sentencing provisions are beneficial to the black community communities hardest hit by the crack epidemic.
▶ 0:47:03Sen. Durbin: The evidence is clear, it has disproportionately impacted people of color, with 81% of those convicted from 2015 to 2019 being black. I let the sentencing fairness act that reduce it from 101 to one. In 2018 trump signed into law the first step act, making the fair sentencing act with -- production retroactive.
▶ 0:47:30Sen. Durbin: The fact that judge stevens continues to stand by an article that defends this sentencing disparity is unbelievable. I also asked judge state questions if you would announce the january 6 insurrection. He responded in this way, saying that the use of the word insurrection drew a legal conclusion and that it would be inappropriate for him to comment on highly contested political issues. The fact is, a violent mob ransacked for capital complex.
▶ 0:48:03Sen. Durbin: Many of us witnessed it firsthand, an actual attempt to obstruct the counting of ballots in the electoral college, leading to the deaths of five police officers and injuries to 140 other police officers. Judge stevens cannot acknowledge these basic facts or denounce the violence perpetrated against law enforcement and I cannot support the nomination.
▶ 0:48:24Chair Grassley: The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. graham? Mr. cornyn? Mr. lee? Mr. cruz? Mr. hawley? Mr. tillis? Mr. kennedy? Ms. blackburn? Mr. schmitt? Ms. britt? Ms. moody? Mr. durbin? Mr. whitehouse? Ms. klobuchar? Mr. coons? Mr. blumenthal?
▶ 0:48:54Chair Grassley: Ms. hirono? Mr. booker? Mr. padilla? Mr. welch? Mr. schiff? Chairman?
▶ 0:49:08Chair Grassley: Aye. Cristian stevens will be favorably reported to the house. Now, we can have a voice vote on bart davis for the U.S. attorney district of idaho. Those in favor? Aye. Those against? >> no.
▶ 0:49:37Sen. Durbin: Senators booker, padilla, and blumenthal asked to be recorded no. Schiff, no.
▶ 0:49:45Chair Grassley: Ok. Now, so the ayes have it, that will be favorably reported. Now, we work on U.S. attorney eastern district of pennsylvania, david metcalf. Those in favor, safe those in favor, safy aye. Opposed? >> no.
▶ 0:50:10Sen. Durbin: Senators booker, padilla, welch, and blumenthal have asked to be recorded no. Ms. hirono? And schiff. >> had there been a recorded note -- vote on this nominee, I would like to state that I would have voted no.
▶ 0:50:31Sen. Durbin: And myself, durbin.
▶ 0:50:35Chair Grassley: The ayes have it, the nomination will be favorably recorded. Meeting adjourned.