Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Denouncing Donald Trump’s Nominations Package As A Tool To Stack His Administration And The Courts With Inept MAGA Loyalists
Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) spoke on the Senate floor denouncing President Trump’s unqualified, loyalist court nominations, which include individuals that lack federal court experience and have participated in the January 6th insurrection. Leader Schumer also derided the nomination of Richard Kloster to serve on the Surface Transportation Board as the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger is considered. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
It's no surprise that Donald Trump's popularity ratings are in the mid 30's. He does such profoundly crazy things. Bad things. Almost evil things. To pick somebody for the federal court who was there on January 6? That's evil. That's not just supporting insurrection, that's elevating insurrection. But that's what's happening here.
Republicans continue to force through some of the shadiest, most unqualified nominees I’ve ever seen.
The Trump loyalists in today’s package are no different.
Darin Smith, Trump’s pick for the District Court of Wyoming, has no criminal or federal court experience whatsoever. He opposes same-sex marriage and supports teaching creationism in our public schools, but that's not the number one thing about him.
Smith was present at the Capitol on January 6. And now Trump wants him to uphold law and order. What hypocrisy, what fakery. How disgusting. Donald Trump, you reach a new low every day. A new low every day. To make those who tried to take over the Capitol and create an insurrection heroes, and elevate them to judgeships? That's why you're so unpopular, Donald Trump, you're in this bubble, and you got too many people in this chamber who shrug their shoulders, go along and support you.
Another nominee, Phillip Williams, the nominee for the Northern District of Alabama, has a dearth of criminal and federal court experience and compared the prosecution of the January 6 insurrectionists to the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials. He also called abortion, “nothing more than industrialized slaughter.”
For the Middle District of North Carolina, Trump nominated Dan Bishop – Russell Vought’s former top lieutenant at the Office of Management and Budget. He helped orchestrate the Trump administration’s crusade to gut crucial services for the American people. People hated what he has done. And yet here we're elevating one of the chief henchmen of Russell Vought.
Bishop also stated he disagreed with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing same-sex marriage, and he supported national abortion bans on multiple occasions as a legislator.
And finally, I want to say a word about Richard Kloster, nominated to serve on the Surface Transportation Board. Kloster has shown a troubling lack of basic understanding of what the Board does. He is, however, a diehard MAGA loyalist—good enough in Trump’s eyes.
Kloster’s nomination comes as the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are set to refile today their $85 billion, $85 billion, merger with the Surface Transportation Board.
If Kloster helps clear the deal, it’ll mean higher costs for the Americans people. Hear that Americans? Trump’s putting people on the Board who are so so obeisant to industry that he’s going to raise your costs. The more the railroads merge, the less competition, the more the consumer, the more the American people, pay.
And if Kloster’s on the Board, we are kidding ourselves to think he’d side with workers or consumers over the interests of railroad oligarchs.
I could go on and on, but Americans get the picture: Donald Trump wants to stack the courts and his administration with MAGA loyalists who are hellbent on threatening our freedoms, our economy, our democracy.
And Republicans, even worse, don’t even want to put each of these nominations up for a vote. They can lump them all together, cause they’re embarrassed to vote for some of these people I’m sure of that.
###