circuit nominees, john roberts and thomas griffith and i supported cloture on a third, brett kavanaugh. i supported other controversial bush circuit court nominees, sometimes to the chagrin on my own side. i did so because i believe those nominees were qualified and could be fair. and i believe very deeply that the judiciary is too important to play partisan games with it, and that's exactly what's going on here. why should i continue as a member of the judiciary committee with the second most seniority when the administration changes to step out and support any new republican's nominees? i've done it in the past, i've hoped to break this deadlock of partisanship, i hoped we could vote when a nominee is qualified regardless of party. this nominee to me if a filibuster to close off debate is not granted, shows me that the atmosphere is such that this can never be the case. and that i, someone on the judiciary committee, who has been willing to cross party lines to vote for a qualified nominee, should cease and desist in this regard. that's the message of this nominee to me. just think o