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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Zachary Bluestone to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

I will vote in opposition to Mr. Bluestone's confirmation to a lifetime appointment on the Federal bench. There are several reasons why I cannot support his nomination.

Mr. Bluestone graduated from law school 9 years ago and has only been practicing law for 7 years. This is fewer years of experience than any of the 235 judicial nominees confirmed during the Biden administration. Luckily for him, the Justice Department under Attorney General Bondi now refuses to provide the American Bar Association with materials or access to the nominees for evaluation. The ABA stated that it could not issue a rating based on receiving insufficient information to evaluate Mr. Bluestone's qualifications.

But it is obvious what they would have said had they been able to look at Mr. Bluestone's record in full: He does not have the experience necessary to handle the demands of the Federal bench.

This is not my only concern, however. Mr. Bluestone is yet another one of President Trump nominees who continues to perpetuate the ``Big Lie'' that the 2020 election was stolen.

In answers to written questions, Mr. Bluestone refused to admit that President Biden won the 2020 election, but he had no issue agreeing that President Trump won the 2016 and 2024 elections. The only reason is that Mr. Bluestone is loyal to President Trump, not the Constitution, nor the rule of law.

As such, I will vote against Mr. Bluestone's confirmation. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing his nomination.

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