Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOMINEES.
THAT'S A SO-CALLED NUCLEAR
OPTION.
YOU PROBABLY HEARD THAT BEFORE.
PRESIDENT OBAMA RELEASED A
STATEMENT ON THE BLOCKED BIDS
THAT READS IN PART QUOTE, THIS
OBSTRUCTION IS COMPLETELY
UNPRECEDENTED.
WHEN IT COMES TO JUDICIAL
NOMINATIONS, I AM FULFILLING MY
CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
BUT CONGRESS IS NOT.
INSTEAD, SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE
STANDING IN THE WAY OF A FULLY
FUNCTIONING JUDICIARY THAT
SERVES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
JOINING ME NOW FROM CAPITOL HILL
IS REPUBLICAN SENATOR CHUCK
GRASSLEY OF IOWA, THE RANKING
REPUBLICAN ON THE SENATE
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE.
SENATOR, THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO WHAT
PRESIDENT OBAMA SAID?
>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, HE IS THE
FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES TO EVER VOTE TO
FILIBUSTER A NOMINEE FOR THE
COURTS AND THAT'S WHAT HE DID
WHEN HE WAS A SENATOR.
SECONDLY, HE HAS NOTHING TO
COMPLAIN ABOUT CONGRESS DOING
ITS JOB.
THE SENATE DOING ITS JOB TO
CONFIRM.
BECAUSE WE HAVE CONFIRMED ABOUT
208 JUDICIAL NOMINEES OF HIS AND
WE HAVE ONLY DISAPPROVED FOUR,
THAN WOULD BE ABOUT A 99%
APPROVAL RATING.
SO I THINK HE HAS DONE VERY WELL
BUT THERE IS SOME PLACE WHERE
HE'S COMING UP SHORT, AND THE
LATEST FIGURES NOW MIGHT BE A
MONTH OLD, BUT THERE ARE 65
VACANCIES THAT HE HADN'T EVEN
SENT NAMES UP TO THE HILL FOR US
TO CONFIRM, AND UNDER OUR
CONSTITUTION, WE CAN'T CONFIRM
JUDGES UNTIL HE NOMINATES THEM.
SO HE BETTER GET ON THE BALL AND
NOMINATE JUDGES TO THESE COURTS
IF HE WANTS US TO ACT FASTER.
>> THAT'S A FAIR POINT.
BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT THE D.C.
BASED APPELLATE COURT.
THIS IS THE THIRD TIME IN THREE
WEEKS THAT YOU AND YOUR
REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES HAVE
BLOCKED OR USED THE FILIBUSTER,
HOWEVER YOU WANT TO DESCRIBE IT,
TO PREVENT AN OBAMA NOMINEE TO
THE D.C. BASED APPELLATE COURT
FROM COMING UP FOR A VOTE.
WHY NOT LET THEM HAVE AN UP OR
DOWN VOTE?
>> I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I
ALSO DID THE SAME THING WHEN
THERE WAS A PRESIDENT BUSH,
BECAUSE I ELIMINATED THE TWELFTH
SEAT THAT WAS ON THE COURT AND
BUSH WANTED TO FILL THAT
VACANCY, AND THE REASON I DID
THAT THEN AND THE REASON WE
AREN'T FILLING THESE VACANCIES
NOW IS BECAUSE THIS IS THE MOST
UNDERWORKED CIRCUIT OF THE 12
CIRCUITS WE HAVE IN THIS
COUNTRY.
THEIR CASELOAD ON AVERAGE IS
ONLY HALF WHAT IT IS -- OR THEIR
CASELOAD IS ONLY HALF OF WHAT IT
IS THE AVERAGE OF THE OTHER 11
CIRCUITS IN OUR COUNTRY.
>> I THOUGHT I SAW STATISTICS
SOMEWHERE THAT SAID THEY
ACTUALLY HAVE A BIGGER CASELOAD
PER JUDGE THAN THE EIGHTH
CIRCUIT WHICH SERVES IN IOWA.
>> WELL, I HOPE YOU GO BACK AND
READ MY SPEECHES AND FIND OUT
HOW I USE THE CASES FILED AND
THE CASES DETERMINED, AND WHEN
YOU GO TO THE 11 CIRCUITS AND GO
TO CASES FILED AND CASES
DETERMINED, YOU'LL FIND OUT THAT
THIS CASELOAD IS HALF OF THE
AVERAGE OF THE OTHER CIRCUITS.
>> CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS SEEMS
TO DISAGREE WITH YOU IN TERMS OF
WHETHER OR NOT THE APPELLATE
COURT HERE IN D.C. SHOULD HAVE
THESE POSITIONS.
WOULDN'T HE KNOW BEST?
>> HE DOESN'T KNOW BEST FROM
THIS STANDPOINT, THAT WE HAVE
LETTERS FROM JUDGES ON THAT VERY
COURT THAT SAID WE DON'T NEED
ANY MORE JUDGES OR THERE
WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH CASES TO GO
AROUND.
SO I THINK THAT THE JUDGES ON
THE D.C. CIRCUIT THAT SAY THERE
WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH WORK TO GO
AROUND IS MORE EVIDENCE OF NOT
FILLING THESE SEATS THAN WHAT
THE CHIEF JUSTICE SAYS,
CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT ALSO
WE'RE SAVING $1 MILLION EVERY
YEAR FOR EVERY JUDGE THAT WE
DON'T CONFIRM FOR A COURT WHERE
THOSE JUDGES AREN'T NEEDED.
>> JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO, YOU
NOTED THAT YOU DID NOT WANT A
TWELFTH SLOT ON THIS COURT AND
YOU HELD THAT POSITION UP DURING
THE BUSH YEARS, BUT YOU DID VOTE
TO FILL THE NINTH, TENTH AND
11TH SLOTS ON THIS COURT.
THOSE ARE THE POSITIONS YOU'RE
TRYING TO ELIMINATE SO IT HAS
NOT BEEN COMPLETELY EQUITABLE,
RIGHT, BECAUSE YOU DID ALLOW FOR
THREE JUDGE POSITIONS WHEN BUSH
WAS PRESIDENT.
>> YOU WERE RIGHT ON THE NINTH
AND TENTH.
BUT THE 11TH SEAT REALLY WASN'T
THE 11TH SEAT BECAUSE THAT WAS A
SEAT THAT ANOTHER JUDGE HAD
ALREADY RESIGNED FROM.
SO THAT WAS REALLY THE TENTH
SEAT AT THAT POINT, AND YOU GOT
TO LOOK AT THE FACT THAT AT THAT
PARTICULAR TIME, THE CASELOAD
WAS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN IT IS
RIGHT NOW, BUT THE CASELOAD
WASN'T HIGH ENOUGH TO HAVE A
TWELFTH JUDGE WHICH PRESIDENT
BUSH WANTED SO AT THAT POINT, WE
ELIMINATED THE TWELFTH SEAT.
NOW I HAVE A BILL IN TO
ELIMINATE NINE, TEN AND 11 AND
JUST ELIMINATE ONE OF THEM, BUT
THE OTHER TWO, WE WILL PUT IN
CIRCUITS WHERE THEY'RE MORE
NEEDED BY CASELOAD AND THEN
PRESIDENT OBAMA CAN HAVE THE
PRIVILEGE OF APPOINTING JUDGES
THERE.
SO WE ARE NOT DENYING HIM THE
RIGHT TO APPOINT JUDGES.
IT'S JUST WHERE HE APPOINTS
THEM.
BY THE WAY, THIS ISN'T A NEW
CRUSADE FOR ME, BECAUSE WHEN I
WAS IN THE SENATE IN THE 1990s,
AND CHAIRMAN OF THE COURT