Floor Statements

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations: Executive Calendar Nos. 378, 380, and 385.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 107, Steven Engel.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 384, Peter Robb.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 407, William Wehrum.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 159, Derek Kan.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls with respect to the cloture motions be waived.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the pending cloture motions ripen at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 6. I further ask that at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 7, the Senate proceed to the consideration of Executive Calendar No. 247, as under the previous order.

For the information of all Senators, there will be a cloture vote on the Engel nomination at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. The Senate will vote on the Gibson nomination at 12 noon on Tuesday.

Mr. President, yesterday's attack in Manhattan was sickening, twisted, and heartbreaking. The suspect appears to have been inspired by ISIL. We know that in the days ahead, our intelligence community will make every effort to learn more about him and whether he had any connection to this terror group and its hateful ideology. But today we are thinking of everyone affected by this tragedy. We are praying for the victims and their families. We are thinking of our fellow Americans in New York. We are expressing our gratitude for the critical work of our first responders. To them we say: Thank you for your courage. Thank you for all you do, especially in the face of such a terrible tragedy like we witnessed yesterday.

Mr. President, after 8 years of sluggish growth and missed opportunities for the middle class under 8 years of the Obama administration, the American people elected a new President and Congress dedicated to getting our country moving again after so many years of failed leftwing policies. We are working hard on joint legislative initiatives on tax reform.

We have also undertaken what has been described as ``the most ambitious regulatory rollback since Reagan.'' The administration has the ability to take serious action on its own, and it has. The Congress has taken important action many times as well. We have used the tools contained in the Congressional Review Act, which allows us to overturn certain regulations with a majority vote in Congress and the President's signature. The President signed all of the many CRA resolutions we passed already, which overturned regulations that threatened everything from job creation to economic growth.

The President will sign another CRA resolution today, one that will overturn a regulation that threatened to drive up costs for millions of Americans who carry a credit card. It is a regulation dreamed up by a government agency, the CFPB, that claims to protect consumers but seems to have found a way to actually harm them. The Treasury Department released a study showing how this regulation has little to do with consumer protection and everything to do with lining the pockets of trial lawyers. This unaccountable agency ignored that study and issued its regulation anyway.

We passed this Congressional Review Act resolution to protect consumers from wrongdoing while avoiding frivolous lawsuits that will only drive up costs for the millions of Americans who have a credit card. The CFPB continues to be one of the most unaccountable bureaucracies in Washington, and this Congress will continue to stand up for consumers even when the CFPB will not.

Mr. President, yesterday, when the Senate confirmed the nomination of Professor Amy Barrett to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, we took another important step to ensure that the Federal judiciary fulfills its role in our constitutional system. Now we have an opportunity to confirm another well-qualified woman to the bench, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Joan Larsen. President Trump nominated her to serve on the Sixth Circuit, and she will be a strong addition to that court and a benefit to our Nation.

After graduating first in her class from Northwestern's law school, Justice Larsen served as a law clerk for Judge David Sentelle of the DC Circuit Court and then for Justice Antonin Scalia. These clerkships honed Justice Larsen's legal abilities and respect for

the rule of law, preparing her for a distinguished career.

Joan Larsen also served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. Former government officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations wrote in strong support of her nomination, each of them holding her in the highest regard.

Joan Larsen later joined the law faculty at the University of Michigan, teaching there for many years. She excelled in academia, earning the praise of her students and the esteem of her colleagues. In fact, more than 30 of Michigan's deans and law professors wrote to support her nomination. They wrote that Justice Larsen's ``commitment to the rule of law and her capacity for top-flight legal analysis are both of the first order, and her personal integrity and decency are exceptional.'' Even when they disagreed, her colleagues praised Justice Larsen's generous manner, her personal integrity, as well as her legal acumen.

In 2015, Larsen was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court. The next year, she won election to a full term, winning every single county in the State. Her fellow justices--even those with different ideologies-- praised her intellect and her commitment to apply the law as it is written to every case before them.

Joan Larsen's time on the Michigan high court has shown a record of independence and of fairness. Here is how one practitioner put it in a letter to the Judiciary Committee: ``I am not a Republican,'' he wrote. ``Justice Larsen approaches cases with an open mind and an independence from party affiliation. . . . I believe that . . . Justice Larsen has had a very positive influence on the Michigan Supreme Court. In my view, she would be a deserving addition to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.''

Another lawyer wrote the committee, advising that he ``has practiced law in Michigan for 39 years'' and is ``a past president of the Michigan Association for Justice (formerly the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association).'' He goes on to say that Justice Larsen ``has demonstrated on the bench that she is precisely who she is in person, a genuine, thoughtful individual who respects precedent, the common law and the role that lawyers and judges play in society. . . . I have no hesitation in telling you that Justice Larsen will make an excellent judge on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.''

In conclusion, President Trump continues to nominate smart, well- qualified, and impartial individuals to our Nation's Federal courts. Justice Larsen, like each of the other nominees before her, was nominated on the basis of her belief in the rule of law and her commitment to apply the law fairly to everyone who enters her courtroom.

Once again, I would also like to thank Chairman Chuck Grassley for his leadership on the Judiciary Committee, tirelessly working to bring the President's nominees to the floor.

I look forward to voting to confirm Joan Larsen today, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me.