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Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Andre Mathis to serve on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Mathis is an outstanding nominee with extensive litigation experience and deep ties to the Tennessee legal community.
Over the years, he has litigated hundreds of civil cases and has defended approximately 150 criminal cases as a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel in the Western District of Tennessee. Mr. Mathis has tried 19 cases to verdict or final judgment and has briefed 23 appeals. And if confirmed, he would be the first Black man to sit on the Sixth Circuit from Tennessee. Mr. Mathis was rated unanimously ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association, and he received a bipartisan vote in committee. Despite his extensive experience, some on the other side have questioned Mr. Mathis' credentials, as well as his confirmation process itself.
Let's set the record straight. Mr. Mathis is highly qualified for this job. And any claim that there was no meaningful consultation between the White House and the Tennessee Senators on this vacancy is simply false. Over a period of 6 months, the White House asked the Tennessee Senators for proposed candidates, interviewed one such candidate, and made Mr. Mathis available to the Senators to conduct their own interviews. There is a clear record of good faith consultation regarding this vacancy, consultation that far exceeded that afforded by the Trump White House to several Democratic Senators.
Remember, under the former President, Senate Republicans regularly supported circuit nominees who were nominated, even though the Trump White House did not seek any input from home-State Democratic Senators. I have said it many times: There cannot be one standard for Republicans and another for Democrats.
With Mr. Mathis' nomination, this Senate has an historic opportunity to confirm a lifelong Tennessean and a person of outstanding credentials and integrity to serve the community that raised him. I look forward to supporting him and urge my colleagues to do the same.
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