joan larsen's time on the michigan high court has shown a record of independence and of fairness. here's how one practitioner put it in a letter to the judiciary committee. i'm not a republican, he wrote. justice larsen approaches cases with an open mind and an independence from party affiliation. i believe that justice larsen has had a very positive influence on the michigan supreme court. in my view, she would be a deserving addition to the sixth circuit court of appeals. another lawyer wrote the committee advising that he has practiced law in michigan for 39 years and is a past president of the michigan association for justice formerly the michigan trial lawyers association. he goes on to say that justice larsen has demonstrated on the bench that she is precisely who she is in person, a genuine, thoughtful individual who respects precedent, the common law and the role that lawyers and judges play in society. i have no hesitation in telling you that justice larsen will make an excellent judge on the sixth circuit court of appeals. in conclusion, president trump continues to nomi

the senate will vote on the nomination of michigan supreme court justice joan larsen to serve on the sixth circuit court of appeals. though she currently lives in michigan, justice larsen was born in and hails from my state of iowa. in fact, she and i share the same university, the university of northern iowa, for our bachelor's degrees. i've also learned since meeting justice larsen that her father was long time c.e.o. of lutheran services of iowa. now retired but during the time he was c.e.o., he was the very same person i often met with for breakfast when he would come to washington to tell us about the concerns of lutheran services of iowa. at that time i never knew that i might be speaking in favor of his daughter. didn't even know of the daughter at that time. so i'm proud to see a fellow iowan and such an eminently qualified nominee be nominated for the sixth circuit court of appeals. for those who may not be familiar with her career and accomplishments, a few minutes will give me an opportunity to share with you about those. i think you'll find, as i have, that justice larsen

joan larsen, confirmed. allison eid, confirmed. stephanos bibas, confirmed. after eight years of a president who selected judges based upon an ideological litmus test designed to find nominees who favor certain groups or individuals over others, we now have a president who is sending over nominees who will ensure that the judiciary is actually living up to the role we expect in our democracy. treating everyone equally, giving every litigant a fair shake, applying the law as it's actually written, not as a judge wishes it might be. the four circuit court nominees the senate confirmed last week will do just that. democrats have put up a lot of procedural roadblocks to prevent the senate from moving forward all year. we have moved ahead anyway. as a result, despite all the obstacles from the other side, we're making significant progress. of course, none of this would be possible without the hard work and notable leadership of judiciary committee chairman juk grassley, and i want to thank him again for everything he's done. we're not finished yesterday. we're goi

just last month, the senate voted to confirm two circuit nominees -- allison iad and joan larsen, who had been listed by then-candidate trump as potential supreme court nominees, indicating that they have passed that litmus test. when i asked both of these nominees whether their record would lead someone to believe that they would, quote, automatically, end quote, reverse roe v. wade, they both demurred. they said they didn't know why they were selected for president trump's supreme court short list, no idea. i don't believe it. then candidate trump laid out his supreme court ideas in unambiguous are terms. yesterday we heard testimony from a circuit court nominee, justice don willett of the texas supreme court who proudly described himself in 2012 as, quote, the consensus conservative choice from every corner of the conservative movement, pro-life, pro-faith, pro-family, pro-liberty, pro-second amendment, pro-private property rights, and pro-government. end quote. that's how he described himself. what i asked him what he meant by tying himself to these labels, he refused to give me a

that's certainly where joan larsen works. she's been a justice on the michigan supreme court and nominated to the sixth circuit which handles federal appeals from michigan, kentucky, ohio, and tennessee. justice larsen graduated first in her class from northwestern university's law school and clerked for the prestigious d.c. circuit court of appeals in washington, d.c., and served as a law clerk to justice antonin scalia of the united states supreme court. since then, she's worked in public service at the office of legal counsel at the department of justice during the george w. bush administration and has taught at the university of michigan law school. both of our democratic colleagues from michigan have returned their blue slips, which is the piece of paper which says they are okay with the nomination going forward, signaling their approval. given given her credentials, my question would, how could they not. judge larsen will make an excellent addition to the circuit court of appeals and i'm glad we now confirmed her. anothe

this is consistent with their votes against professor amy barrett, justice joan larsen, and justice allison eid, all of whom received well-qualified ratings. it appears that my democratic colleagues don't actually read the a.b.a.'s ratings as particularly important when it comes right down to practice. professor bibas is the son of a greek immigrant who came to this country after surviving the nazi occupation of greece. he boasts impressive academic credentials. he graduated from columbia university, age 19. he then received degrees from the university of oxford and yale law school. after law school, professor bibas clerked for judge patrick higgenbottom of the u.s. court of appeals for the fifth circuit. then for justice anthony kennedy of the united states supreme court. following these prestigis clerkships, professor bibas became an assistant u.s. attorney, southern district new york. his experience as a prosecutor gave him a firsthand view of the problems and injustices in the american criminal justice system. he decided to pursue a career as an academic and focusing then on improving t

amy barrett, joan louise larsen and allison eid are three more cracks in that glass ceiling. their confirmation is proof that successful women can balance responsibility and seize opportunity when it knocks at their door. mr. president, these accomplished nominees are not joining the federal beth because of a frivolous attempt at trying to balance out the gender disparity in our courts; they will be done the black robes because they -- they will be donning the black robes because they earned it. amy coney barrett climbed through the ranks by clerking for lawrence silberman. working with her husband, a successful lawyer in his own right, she has balanced family responsibilities while achieving personal success. at the age of 30, she was hired as a professor at one of the nation's best law programs, notre dame. over the past six years, she has sat on the advisory committee on federal rules of the appellate procedure, on the recommendation of chief justice roberts. joan louise larsen, the next united states circuit judge for the sixth circuit, is proof that hard work pays off. a