Durbin Gives Opening Remarks in Judiciary Committee Hearing for Circuit & District Judicial Nominees

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during the nominations hearing for Eunice C. Lee, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit; Veronica S. Rossman, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit; David G. Estudillo, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington; Lauren J. King, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington; and Tana Lin, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington.  During his statement, Durbin argued that with these five nominees, the Biden Administration and Senate Democrats continue to add professional balance to the bench.  Today’s slate includes two federal public defenders, a former immigration attorney, an expert in tribal law, and a civil rights champion.

Key quotes:

“We need, in our Judiciary, a reflection of America across the board—demographics and professional experience… I’m pleased to see efforts now underway to address this imbalance, including with the nominations of Ms. Lee and Ms. Rossman to the Second and Tenth Circuits, respectively.”

“These five have been recommended by and have the strong support of their home-state Senators, and they were vetted and nominated by the White House.  Compare that to the previous Congress where the Federalist Society played an outsized role in selecting nominees.”

“Our most important lodestar should be whether the nominees before us have the hallmarks of what makes a good judge.  Independent?  Can they set aside personal beliefs and leave partisan politics in the robing room?  Will they apply the law to the facts?  Will they approach every case in a fair-minded way?  I firmly believe we can answer ‘yes’ to these questions for each of these nominee before the Committee today.”

Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations. 

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