Schumer Floor Remarks In Opposition To The Confirmation Of Andrew Brasher To The Eleventh Circuit

Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer spoke today on the Senate floor in opposition to President Trump’s nomination of Andrew Brasher to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which can also be viewed here:

About the nomination of Mr. Brasher. Now that the impeachment trial of the president is over, Leader McConnell is wasting no time getting us back to what seems to be his primary goal: rubberstamping unqualified and extreme judicial nominations. This week, the Senate will consider the nomination of Andrew Brasher to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

 Mr. Brasher’s primary qualification to sit on the federal bench seems to be the six and a half months—six and a half months—he spent on the District Court in Alabama.

 Let me repeat that: Senate Republicans installed Mr. Brasher as a District Court judge less than seven months before moving to elevate him to an appellate court. I’ve never heard of anything like this. The Senate Majority is asking us to promote a candidate for a circuit court judgeship who has less than a year of experience as a judge.

 But he’s not just unqualified; maybe why they’re promoting him so quickly is because they love the fact that his views are so wildly out of the mainstream. As Alabama’s Solicitor General, Mr. Brasher fought against women’s reproductive rights, that three-quarters of Americans believe in, commonsense gun safety laws, which 90% of Americans believe in, and marriage equality, which a majority of Americans believe in. He employed far-fetched legal theories that were overruled by the courts, including Justice Scalia.

 Mr. Brasher, shamefully, spent his career defending voter suppression efforts. So, less than one week after covering up the president’s attempts to cheat in the next election, Senate Republicans are moving forward to reward a nominee who supports voter suppression. Both actions smack of contempt for the democratic process and a blatant disregard for the franchise of American citizens. The thing our many young men and women have died for throughout the centuries: the right to vote.

 Mr. Brasher’s nomination to the circuit court is another disgrace, an absolute disgrace, to our federal judiciary. Every Senator should vote against it.

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