mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. >> mr. president, our nation is mourning the and of an

exceptional american life justice ruth bader ginsburg meant so much to our country. first and foremost she was a brilliant generational legal mind who climbed past one obstacle after another to summit the very pinnacle of her profession. justice ginsburg was a fixture on the highest court for more than a quarter of a century. she was not just a lawyer, no. but a leader. from majority opinions to impassioned dissents, her life's work will not only continue to shape jurisprudence but also renlightened scholars and

students for generations by all accounts justice ginsburg loved her work because she loves the law and the more ordinary life story her courage and continued excellence in the face of multiple serious illnesseser would itself be the heroic climax rather than just one more remarkable chapter among so many. on the court justice ginsburg was universally admired colleague it's no wonder many americans have taken comfort to remember her friendship with her ideological opposite delete justice scalia. they major the halls of justice had laughter and comity they rarely sat on the same side of a decision but they set together at the opera and any other time they could manage to t be together so the legal world is mourning a giant justice ginsburg fellow

justice or as a legion of loyal law clerks and countless others are morning a close friend or mentor. the senate sends condolences tous the mall. justice ginsburg impact on american life went deeper still the lost feels personal to millions of americans who may have never made her acquaintance she was spirited andc powerful in a historic champion for american women to a degree that transcends any legal or philosophical disagreement. she climbed from the middle class jewish book lynn era into law and government the future justice had to surmount one obstacle after another and

justice ginsburg did not only climb a mountain, she blazed a trail through deeds, words and through her example to clear away the cobwebs. she opened one professional door after another and made certain they stayed open behind her. directly or indirectly she helped entire generations of talented women build their lives as they saw fit to enrich our society through professional work lot politics aside, no friend of equality could fail to appreciate justice ginsburg's determination. finally justice ginsburg relished forceful writing and detailed arguments she was an on - - a uniter many who consider themselves her

admirers and would claim her for their political side came to embrace those proposals to politicize the structure of the court itself but justice ginsburg remained unchanged her commitment to have the neutral foundation of the institution she loved. the entire senate is united to think of and pray for justice ginsburg's family most especially her daughter jane her son james her grandchildren and step grandchildren great-granddaughter and everyone who called her their ownmr. mr. present ask the following remarks appear at a different place inof the record. >> without objection. >> president trumps nominee of

the vacancy will receive a vote on the floor of the senate. already some of the same individuals who tried every conceivable dirty trick to obstruct justice gorsuch and justice kavanaugh are lining up to say the third time will be the charm the american people are about to witness an astonishing parade of misrepresentations about the past, and statements about the present and more threats against our institution from the same people who already have been saying for months will be for this they want to pack the court court. two years ago radical movement tried to use unproven accusations to ruin a man's life because they cannot win a

vote fair and square. now they appear to be ready and even more appalling sequel. this time the target justice of the presumption of in this one - -er innocence but the governing institutions themselves. there will be times in the days ahead to discuss the threats democrats have been directing at the united states senate and the supreme court itself they have grown louder but they predate this vacancy by many months. there will be time to discuss why senators who appear in the steps of the supreme court to personally threaten associate justices of they do not rule a certain way are ill-equipped to give lectures on civics bullets do away with those factual misrepresentations we are already hearing claims

there is not sufficient time to examine and confirm a nominee. we can debunk the myth in about 30 seconds because as of today there are 23 days until november 3104 days until the end of the congress john paul stevens was confirmed by the senate 19 days after the body formally received his nomination nomination. nineteen days start to finish. justice sandra day o'connor and another iconic jurist was confirmed 33 days after her nomination. the late justice ginsburg herself it was just 42 days. justice stevens entire confirmation process could've been played outbe twice between now and november 3rd with

time to spare. and justice ginsburg herself could've been confirmed twice between now and the end of the year with time to spare. the senate has more than sufficient time to process the nomination. history and precedent make that perfectly clear others want to claim the situation of justice alito is one - - justice scalia's passing so we should not proceed until january this is completely false this is what i said on the very first session the day after justice scalia passed the senate has not filled the vacancy when there was a divided government since 188-8130 years ago.

here is what i said the next day have to go back to 1888 when cleveland was president last time to find the vacancyel created was approved by a senate of a different party. only six prior times in american history has the vacancy arisen in the majority of those times and 2016 no confirmation. that is a an outcome when you have divided government. as an unusual favor that has been granted nearly 130 is the for them that they have explicitly elected so we stuck

with the basic norms so by the way they did precisely what they had indicated they would do themselves in 1992. democrats control the senate opposite bush 41 and senator joe biden with the judiciary committee. unprompted publicly declared the committee might refused to cooperate t and the republican president tried to fill it. in 2007 democrats controlled opposite bush 43 and with more than a year and af half left president bush 43's term the current democratic leader to

accept those extraordinary circumstances that they should boycott any further confirmations to the supremeur court so not only did they maintain the historical norm but in the playbook when voters have not chosen divided government american people elect the senate majority with the sitting president, the historical record is even more overwhelmingly in favor of confirmation. eight times in our nations history new vacancies have arisen and presidents have made nominations all during the election year.

seven out of eight were confirmed and the sole exception was a bizarre situation including obvious personal corruption that extended into financial dealings. apart from that one strange exception no senate has failed to confirm a nominee in the circumstances that face us right now aside from that one strange exception no senate has failed to confirm a nominee in those circumstances that face us right now. the historical precedent is overwhelming and it runs in one direction for democratic colleagues want to claim they are outraged they can only be outraged at the fact of

american history. there was clear precedent of that outcome of 2016 and even more overwhelming proof that the senate will vote on this nomination this year. the american people reelected the majority in 2016 strengthened further in 2018 because we pledged to work with president trump on the most critical issues facing our country the judiciary was at the top of the list l. ironically the democratic leader who went out of his way to t declare the midterm 2018 elections a referendum on the senate's handling of the supreme court my friend was running that year. the democratic leader went out of his way to declare the 2018 midterms a referendum on the senate's handling of the supreme court.

and in his final speech before justice kavanaugh wase confirmed confirmed, he yelled, literally yelled over and over at the american people to go vote. he told americans go elected senators how they approach advise and consent duties. unfortunatelyrt for him many americans did just that. after watching the democratic tactics the voters retired four of our former colleagues who had gone along with the parties t behavior we gained seats in the last four that was the issue. perhaps more than any other single issue the american people strengthened the senate majority to keep confirming this president's judicial

nominees who respect the constitution and understand the proper role r of the judge. in 2014 the voters elected are majority because we pledged to check and balance a second lame-duck president two years later we kept our word. 2018, the voters through that majority on our pledge to continue working with president trump most especially on his outstanding judicial appointments. we will keep our word once again again. we will vote on this nomination on this floor. >> mr. president in the jewish tradition only a person of great righteousness dies at the end of the year