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Cornyn: Unwarranted, Baseless Attacks On Southwick Beneath Dignity of Senate

‘We need to improve the tone and rhetoric of the judicial confirmation process’

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday morning in support of the nomination of Judge Leslie Southwick to serve on the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Southwick was confirmed by a vote of 59-38. Below are excerpts of Cornyn’s remarks:

“He is by all accounts—notwithstanding some of the attacks by interest groups that we’ve heard recounted even today—a respected member of that court and an honorable and decent man. Notably, he took leave from the bench to volunteer to serve his nation in Iraq. I ask what kind of man would give up a cushy job on the Mississippi Court of Appeals to go put his life on the line in Iraq, unless it’s somebody we ought to admire?

“For whatever reason, this honorable public servant has been dragged through the mud in this confirmation proceeding and in my opinion been slandered by some of his critics…. Judge Southwick’s nomination was opposed by nine of ten Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but to her credit, Sen. Feinstein, the Senator from California, declined to be strong-armed by the interest groups who were whipping up manufactured hysteria when it comes to opposing this nominee, announcing that she found ‘zero evidence to support the charges against Southwick.’

“What was never answered in the Judiciary Committee debate over this nomination is why the same panel had just a year earlier unanimously approved him for a seat on the federal district bench. . . . There is no legitimate concern about Judge Southwick’s character or record. This is just the latest incarnation of the dangerous game that’s being played with the reputations and lives of honorable public servants.

“I wonder if there is a member of this body who doesn’t think that we need to improve the tone and the rhetoric of the judicial confirmation process. When good men and women begin to decline the opportunity to serve on the federal bench out of disdain for this unnecessarily hostile process the administration of justice can only be the worse for it.

“I urge my colleagues to send a strong message here today with this vote, that these unwarranted, baseless attacks on Leslie Southwick are beneath the dignity of the United States Senate. At some point in time we have to stop. I can think of no better time than now with this outstanding public servant.”

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee.

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