For a Fourth Time, Junior Senator from Ohio Blocks Durbin’s Attempt to Confirm U.S. Attorney Nominations on the Senate Floor

Press Release

“Each time I’ve come to the floor to ask… Senator Vance of Ohio has come up with a different explanation for why he’s blocking their confirmation. As I stated last week, for nearly 50 years, the Senate has confirmed U.S. Attorney nominees for both political parties by either a voice vote or unanimous consent after they’ve been reported by the Judiciary Committee.

Leader McConnell regularly comes to the floor to assert that Republicans are really tougher on crime than Democrats. The obstacles that Senate Republicans have created to confirming federal prosecutors, and especially Senator Vance’s actions over the last two weeks, shows what an empty argument that is. Senate Republicans are literally moving the goalposts in the Senate blocking the confirmation of law enforcement officers who lead our nation’s efforts to prosecute violent crime and protect our communities from drug traffickers, gun violence, terrorism, and so many other crimes.

According to the Senator from Ohio, the junior Senator, the Justice Department has been ‘weaponized’—a favorite word of the right—simply because former President Trump has been indicted for multiple felonies. So this is retribution. In order to punish the Department of Justice for any part of it, prosecuting or indicting the former President, the Senator from Ohio wants to stop prosecutors, criminal prosecutors, from going to work in Chicago and Cleveland.

When one Senator can stop the appointment of a well-qualified individual with no questions asked about her ability to handle the job either in Cleveland or Chicago and to do that because he has a political grievance. I hope I never get to that point, and I hope other members of the Senate will think twice. We need a government that is effective and provides safety for the people that we are sent here to represent. And having this snit over some political grievance and holding up the effective appointment of prosecutors to do their job is inappropriate and I will continue to come to the floor and plead the case for safety in the neighborhoods. And before anyone else decides to come to the floor in the future on the Republican side and criticize crime in the city of Chicago, for goodness’ sakes, try to explain to the Senator from Ohio there is a connection between criminal prosecution and crime.”

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