Prepared Floor
Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Chairman,
Senate Judiciary Committee
The Nomination of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch
to Serve as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
“He will make a
superb Justice.”
Friday, April
7, 2017
Before we vote on Judge Gorsuch, I'd
like to discuss briefly why I’m so pleased that he’ll soon be Justice Gorsuch.
I
opened our Judiciary Committee hearing with this. As Justice Scalia said, it is
“the proud boast of our democracy that we have a government of laws and not men
. . . Without a secure structure of separated powers, our Bill of Rights would
be worthless.”
The
separation of powers in our Constitution is the guardian of our liberty. Judge
Gorsuch understands that. His deep understanding of the separation of powers
enlivens his opinions.
By
faithfully enforcing the boundaries among branches of the government and the
power of the federal government in our lives, this Justice will ensure that the
law protects our liberties.
And
here’s the other thing that’s important about a judge who respects the
separation of powers. We know he’ll be independent. He told us that he’s his
own man, that no man speaks for him. He’s not beholden to the President who
appointed him.
And
his testimony shows that he’s not beholden to us, either. He wouldn’t
compromise his independence to win confirmation votes. He passed the test. This
is a man of integrity.
And
his qualifications for the bench are exceptional. You know the story. Columbia
University, Harvard Law School, Oxford University. Partnership at a prestigious
law firm and high-level Justice Department service. And most importantly, a
decade-long record of faithfully applying the law on the federal bench in 2,700
cases.
This
brilliant, honest, humble man is a judge’s judge. And he will make a superb
Justice.
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