Volume 167, No. 100, covering the 1st Session of the 117th Congress (2021 – 2022), was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“Judicial Nominations (Executive Session)” mentioning Mitch McConnell was published in the Senate section on page S4000 on June 9.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators’ salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Judicial Nominations
Mr. President, finally, on judges, yesterday, the Senate confirmed the first two judges of President Biden’s tenure–now–Judges Neals of New Jersey and Rodriguez of Colorado.
These judges are only the first of many to come. The Democratic majority in the Senate is going to move quickly to confirm Biden’s judicial appointments. So after the two confirmations yesterday, we wasted no time in preparing the next slate of nominees.
Last night, I took the necessary step to set up votes on two more judges–Zahid Quraishi for the District Court of New Jersey and Kentanji Brown Jackson to serve on the powerful DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
Democrats believe in not only bringing demographic diversity but professional diversity to the Federal bench. In fact, this morning I had the privilege of introducing my recommendation to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the Judiciary Committee, Ms. Eunice Lee.
Once confirmed, Ms. Lee would become the second African-American woman ever to sit on this powerful and important Second Circuit and would be the only former Federal defender among its active roster of judges.
As I mentioned, we believe in demographic diversity but professional diversity as well. All too often, the bench has been filled with a very narrow sector–partners in big law firms, prosecutors. What about the rest? What about public defenders like Ms. Lee? What about voting rights lawyers, like Mr. Ho and Ms. Perez, whom I recommended to the President this week? We must defend–we must expand not only demographic diversity but professional diversity. And I know that President Biden agrees with me on this, and this will be something that I will set out to do not only in New York, along with Senator Gillibrand, but across the country.
And the two other nominees I mentioned are powerful examples as well. Mr. Quraishi will be the first American Muslim in U.S. history to serve as an article III Federal judge. The third largest religion in the United States, he will become the first to ever serve as an article III judge, and we will confirm his nomination this week.
And next up is the nomination of Judge Jackson. After a sterling career as a district court judge, a Federal defender, a Commissioner on the Sentencing Commission, and a clerk to Justice Breyer, Ms. Brown Jackson is poised to take a seat on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, the second highest court in the land. She will fill the seat of now-
Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Oftentimes, nominees to the powerful DC Circuit Court are controversial, in spite of their qualifications, because the stakes are so high. But I am proud to say that Ms. Brown Jackson came out of the Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan–a bipartisan–vote, and soon the entire Senate will confirm this highly qualified jurist to one of the most important positions and courts in the country.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
