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Floor Speech
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Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, today, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of confirming Katie Lane to serve as the next judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.
I have known Katie a long time. In fact, she attended kindergarten through 12th grade in my hometown of Bozeman. In fact, we went to the same high school. I was a little ahead of her. We are both Bozeman High Hawks.
She spent her childhood summers skiing, camping, and hiking, which instilled in her a deep and profound love of the Treasure State and the values that truly make it the ``Last Best Place.''
But then she went on to do even bigger things. She went on to attend George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where she graduated with highest honors. She then clerked at both the trial and appellate levels of the Federal judiciary for two Federal judges.
She returned to Montana to serve as the deputy solicitor general under Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, from 2021 to 2023. During her time in Helena, Katie worked zealously to defend Montana's laws and challenge Federal overreach. She litigated cases in both State and Federal courts on issues important to Montanans, including defending the Second Amendment, multiple land use and grazing rights cases, as well as defending Montana's coal industry.
As Montanans know well, Federal judges play a critical role in our daily lives. For many years, we have dealt with an activist judiciary that repeatedly rules against the interests of Montanans. That is why it is essential we pick principled, thoughtful jurists who are committed to upholding the Constitution and making decisions based on the rule of law, not on personal politics or viewpoints.
With this in mind, Senator Sheehy and I are confident that Katie is the right choice to serve Montana as our next Federal judge. Her values are rooted in Montana and grounded in the Constitution. Katie's distinguished record of public service and experience in both the Federal and State judiciaries makes her well-qualified to serve on the Federal bench. I am confident she will be fairminded; she will be principled; and she will bring honor, decency, integrity and--let's face it--a lot of smarts to the bench.
I cannot recommend Katie highly enough, and I urge my colleagues to vote today to confirm her without delay. Vote on Lane Nomination
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