Nominations (Cong. Rec., May 6, 2020)

Summary

Congressional Record, Vol. 166, No. 85, Wednesday, May 6, 2020. The House was not in session, and its next meeting is on Friday, May 8, 2020, at 10 a.m. The Senate met at 11 a.m. Mr. Grassley's remarks under Coronavirus salute healthcare workers and mention National Nurses Day. The Senate resumes consideration of the nomination of William R. Evanina, of Pennsylvania, to be Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. Mr. Schumer and Mr. McConnell each address the nomination of Justin Walker.

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“Nominations (Cong. Rec., May 6, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-05-06-crec-2020-05-06-pt1-pgs2253-11-f5791af338/, SHA-256 9593596b2adc20bd7a2932fa3e67da2c9990544f64157b89dbc74f070379854b.

Full text

Congressional Record
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116 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE

Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2020 No. 85

House of Representatives
The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Friday, May 8, 2020, at 10 a.m.

Senate
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2020

The Senate met at 11 a.m. and was The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without EXECUTIVE SESSION
called to order by the President pro objection, it is so ordered.
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). f
f EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
CORONAVIRUS
PRAYER Mr. GRASSLEY. COVID–19 has put The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- America through the wringer. There the previous order, the Senate will pro-
fered the following prayer: will be many lessons learned and sto- ceed to executive session to resume
Let us pray. ries to tell from this chapter of our his- consideration of the following nomina-
Eternal God, we continue to depend tory. tion which the clerk will report.
on You to fulfill Your purposes for our Today, I salute the heroes working The senior assistant legislative clerk
lives. You have told us that Your pur- on the frontlines during this pandemic. read the nomination of William R.
pose for us is that we live for Your I can’t overstate the debt of gratitude Evanina, of Pennsylvania, to be Direc-
glory. As our lawmakers strive to do we owe the healthcare professionals tor of the National Counterintelligence
Your will, bringing honor to Your who selflessly put their own lives on and Security Center. (New Position)
name, have Your way in all they say the line to care for COVID–19 patients. RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER
and do. Our doctors, nurses, respiratory thera- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma-
Lord, send them Your help from ce- pists, nursing home workers, phar- jority leader is recognized.
lestial portals so that they will please macists, and first responders are NOMINATIONS
You and be Your ambassadors during among those who have shouldered Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, the
these challenging times. Rescue them physical and mental exhaustion to heal core business of our Nation does not
from anything that will keep them the sick. In fact, today is National stop while we fight the coronavirus.
from remembering that nothing is im- Nurses Day. So I give our nurses an This week, Senate committees are con-
possible for you. extra applause on this their day. To ducting oversight and holding hear-
Be exalted, O God, above the highest the legions of healthcare professionals ings. Members are tracking the imple-
heavens. Let Your glory shine in our across America, thank you for the full mentation of the CARES Act. We are
Nation and world. measure of devotion you have shown to discussing how Congress could do ev-
We pray in Your loving Name. Amen. your community and to our great erything from further strengthening
f country. the health response to ensuring that a
I yield the floor. second epidemic of frivolous lawsuits
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE f does not redirect the national recovery
The President pro tempore led the into a trial lawyer bonanza.
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: Here on the floor, we are filling
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under major vacancies in the Federal Govern-
United States of America, and to the Repub- the previous order, the leadership time ment. Today, we will confirm Bill
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, is reserved. Evanina to lead the National Counter-
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. f intelligence and Security Center. As
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. our Nation grapples with challenges at
SASSE). The Senator from Iowa. CONCLUSION OF MORNING home, it is critically important that a
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask BUSINESS full complement of skilled profes-
to speak in morning business for 1 The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning sionals keep a close watch on our foes,
minute. business is closed. adversaries, and competitors.

∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.

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S2254 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 6, 2020
Mr. Evanina’s nomination will make Walker was tapped to serve the people The senior assistant legislative clerk
him the first Senate-confirmed Direc- of Kentucky on the Federal district proceeded to call the roll.
tor of the NCSC. This role represents bench, he wasted no time in expanding Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask
our government’s senior-most expert in his strong reputation for intellectual unanimous consent that the order for
counterintelligence. Fortunately, this brilliance, legal acumen, and total fair- the quorum call be rescinded.
nominee has served for 3 decades as ness and impartiality. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
special agent with the FBI, as chief of In just the last few weeks, Judge objection, it is so ordered.
the CIA’s Counterespionage Group, and Walker has won national attention for RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
as one of the principal advisers to the an eloquent and persuasive opinion The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
Director of National Intelligence. that forcefully defended Kentuckians’ Democratic leader is recognized.
Mr. Evanina’s long professional expe- basic First Amendment freedom of reli- NOMINATION OF JUSTIN WALKER
rience has given him a well-trained gion, and he has earned a ‘‘well-quali- Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the
eye. He has made clear he is focused on fied’’ rating from the left-leaning Senate is here, open for business. The
the most serious espionage threats fac- American Bar Association that Senate janitors and food service workers, po-
ing our country today: China’s insid- Democrats, like my friend the Demo- lice officers, and all the staff who oper-
ious efforts to steal our industrial, gov- cratic leader, have frequently described ate the floor are here. They are all
ernmental, technological, and political as ‘‘the gold standard.’’ here. Capitol Police are doing their
secrets and Russia’s continuing efforts Let me say that again. In the span of usual excellent job.
to meddle in our democracy. We have a just a couple of weeks, almost simulta- The Republican leader called us back
qualified professional who is tailor- neously, Judge Walker has won praise despite the obvious health risks, but
made for an important job. Our col- from religious freedom advocates na- we are ready to do the business our
leagues on the Intelligence Committee tionwide and the approval of the ABA, country demands. So there is a ques-
have reported him out on a unanimous which Democrats call ‘‘the gold stand- tion that looms: Why isn’t the Senate
bipartisan basis twice. The vice chair- ard.’’ That illustrates the kind of im- focused on responding to the COVID–19
man, Senator WARNER, said: ‘‘Bill pressive individual the committee is pandemic? There hasn’t been a single
Evanina should be confirmed without considering this morning. vote here on the Senate floor related to
further delay.’’ Already, Judge Walker’s reputation coronavirus—not even a nominee re-
But even still, our Democratic col- as a brilliant legal rising star precedes lated to coronavirus.
leagues chose to obstruct his nomina- him. Yet, when you consider the full Rather than focusing on COVID–19
tion on the floor this week and require scope of his education and experience, with laser-like intensity, the Senate
a full day of floor time to confirm. it is hardly a surprise. Judge Walker Judiciary Committee today will waste
Ironically, at the same time, we have graduated from Duke University precious time on the nomination of
also heard some of our Democratic col- summa cum laude. He graduated from Leader MCCONNELL’s protegee, Justin
leagues complain that we spend too Harvard Law School magna cum laude, Walker, to serve on the DC Court of
much time voting on nominations. It is and he edited the Law Review. Appeals, the second most powerful
He had prestigious clerkships at the
bad enough to spend 3 years delaying court in the country.
DC Circuit for then-Judge Brett
nominations to a historic degree and Mr. Walker is a 37-year-old Fed-
Kavanaugh and at the Supreme Court
deliberately making the process pain- eralist Society disciple who has more
for then-Justice Anthony Kennedy. He
ful, but it reached a new level of irony experience as a cable news commen-
learned at the elbows of legal giants.
for our Democratic friends to do all tator than he does trying cases in
Then, he moved on to skilled perform-
that and then complain that their own court. Mr. Walker’s qualifications pale
ance in private practice, and then to
strategy is inconveniencing their in comparison to those of previous
distinguished scholarship at the Uni-
schedules. nominees to the DC Circuit—Democrat
versity of Louisville Law School, with
Essential matters of government do and Republican. Nominees by Demo-
particular expertise in national secu-
not cease because of the coronavirus. cratic Presidents and Republican Presi-
rity, administrative law, and the sepa-
They do not cease because of partisan- dents all were deeply steeped in the
ration of powers.
ship either. As long as Senate Demo- Indeed, it is an impressive record. As law—just about every one—and here we
crats continue to make incredibly Kentucky’s secretary of State, Mike have this?
qualified nominees travel the hard Adams, put it recently, ‘‘Judge Walker What Leader MCCONNELL is doing to
way, including someone whom their is more than just a [C.V.].’’ Hence, the the courts is nothing short of disgrace-
own Democratic ranking member open- outpouring of praise from his peers, ful. The judges currently sitting on the
ly praised, then, I will assure them colleagues, and neighbors in Kentucky second highest court in the land had
they will need to continue to show up who know him well. One hundred Ken- decades of experience in Supreme
and cast votes. The country’s business tucky lawyers, many of whom have Court advocacy, appellate work, crimi-
will not go undone. practiced before Judge Walker in the nal law, private practice, academia,
NOMINATION OF JUSTIN WALKER district court, wrote to praise his and so on, prior to their nominations.
Mr. President, speaking of nomina- ‘‘courage to apply precedent faith- Mr. Walker has been a district court
tions, this morning our colleagues on fully.’’ Sixteen State attorneys general judge for less than a year—less than a
the Judiciary Committee are exam- wrote to share their confidence in year. He had no trial experience prior
ining the qualifications of Judge Justin Judge Walker’s ability to ‘‘weigh the to that.
Walker. Judge Walker is a fellow Ken- facts against the law as it is written Inexperience aside, bad enough as
tuckian. He is a district judge of the . . . not as he wishes it to be.’’ that is, Walker’s views are way out of
Western District of Kentucky, and he I am confident our colleagues on the the mainstream. In 2018, he described
is President Trump’s nominee to serve committee will find that this nominee Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion uphold-
on our second most important Federal possesses a generational legal mind, a ing our healthcare law as ‘‘indefen-
Court, the Court of Appeals for the Dis- kind heart, and total judicial impar- sible’’ and ‘‘catastrophic.’’ Meanwhile,
trict of Columbia. tiality. he praised a dissenting opinion by
I am grateful to Chairman GRAHAM President Trump made an out- then-Judge Kavanaugh as a ‘‘roadmap
and all the other chairmen who are standing choice when he asked this for the Supreme Court’’ to invalidate
finding creative ways to conduct im- Kentuckian to take his public service it.
portant business. The Senate is dem- to the next level. I am confident Judge Every Republican who votes for this
onstrating that the work of governing Walker will not disappoint. I urge the nominee, Mr. Walker, will be voting to
must and can continue, albeit in new committee to approve his nomination. dismantle the ACA and take millions
ways. I look forward to voting to confirm of people’s healthcare away from them
So to respect this time of social him soon here on the Senate floor. if his statements prove to be how he
distancing, I am going to offer my in- I suggest the absence of a quorum. judges things, which seems very likely
troduction here on the floor instead of The PRESIDING OFFICER. The given previous experience of other
over in the committee. Since Judge clerk will call the roll. nominees like this.

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