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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote on the nominations of Dean John Sauer and Harmeet Dhillon, President Trump's nominees for Solicitor General and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.

The Solicitor General represents the United States in the highest Court of the land, the Supreme Court. Mr. Sauer's failure to comply with court orders and his refusal to recuse himself from pending Trump matters render him unfit for this role.

The Civil Rights Division--often called the ``crown jewel'' of the Justice Department--enforces landmark laws that prohibit discrimination and protect the right to vote. Ms. Dhillon's record makes it all too clear that she is not the right person to lead this division.

Mr. Sauer's nomination is a danger to the rule of law. At his confirmation hearing, I asked him a very simple question that any first-year law student should be able to answer, let alone a nominee seeking Senate confirmation.

When I asked him whether an elected official should be allowed to defy a Federal court order, Mr. Sauer said, ``Generally, if there's a direct court order that binds a federal or state official, they should follow it.''

I was appalled that someone seeking to become the ``Tenth Justice,'' as the Solicitor General is commonly known, would take such a position.

As my colleague Senator Kennedy warned Mr. Sauer and another Justice Department nominee who also refused to commit to following court orders ``Don't ever, ever, take the position that you're not going to follow the order of a federal court. Ever.''

But that is not my only concern with Mr. Sauer. Both he and Ms. Dhillon are part of the growing list of the President's personal lawyers who have been nominated for senior DOJ roles.

Ms. Dhillon and her law firm have represented the President as an individual and his campaigns on numerous occasions, pocketing more than $8 million in legal fees.

And Mr. Sauer recently filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the President, urging the Court to stay the effective date of the law that bans TikTok.

During his hearing, Mr. Sauer repeatedly refused to commit to recusing himself from matters connected to his representation of President Trump, including a current case appealing the $364 million judgment entered against the President in New York.

Instead, Mr. Sauer only offered to consult with ``the appropriate Department of Justice ethics officials.'' This gives me little reassurance since the administration recently forced out the Justice Department's senior apolitical career ethics officials.

And Ms. Dhillon's loyalty to the President goes beyond a typical attorney-client relationship. She has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 Presidential election.

In November 2020, she tweeted, ``STOP THE STEAL!'' and encouraged her followers to donate to President Trump's so-called election defense fund.

During her hearing, Ms. Dhillon doubled down on her election denialism, repeating her dubious claims about supposed irregularities and so-called ``voter integrity.'' And she refused to admit that President Biden won the 2020 election.

Ms. Dhillon also has a long history of seeking to restrict civil rights, which is deeply concerning. She has criticized key provisions of the Voting Rights Act and supported laws that make it harder to vote.

And she has an extensive history of hostility toward the LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender Americans.

It is the duty of the head of the Civil Rights Division to protect the civil rights of every American. I cannot and will not support a nominee whose record suggests she is more likely to attack civil rights than defend them.

And it is the Solicitor General's duty to represent the U.S. Government before the Supreme Court. I do not believe Mr. Sauer will put the American people's interests above President Trump's.

I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing these nominees.

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