but lawrence vandyke has done it. these departures from bedrock principles that once guided the senate's constitutional advise and consent should disturb all of us, but even more disturbing is mr. vandyke's record as an unrelenting ideologue who has spent his entire legal career promoting an extreme political agenda. and, unfortunately, that's exactly what we can expect of him if he is confirmed to the ninth circuit court of appeals. that ideological right-wing extremist image and record is exactly why he has been nominated by the president, who has outsourced many of these decisions about nominations to the far-right groups that evidently he feels he has to follow. mr. vandyke has already made it abundantly clear how he will rule on gun violence prevention issues. in an n.r.a. questionnaire that he completed when he ran for the montana supreme court in 2014 mr. vandyke stated that he would not support any legislation regulating firearms and ammunition, any restrictions on the possession, ownership, purchase, sale, or

instead the president nominated lawrence vandyke, a man who wasn't born in nevada, didn't grow up in nevada, didn't go to school in nevada, and doesn't live in nevada now. he hasn't even set foot in nevada for over a year. this administration has nominated someone to serve on the nevada seat of the ninth circuit who -- and let me be clear -- is not a nevadaan. mr. vandyke is, however, a washington,d.c., lawyer and failed political candidate from montana who was nominated to further his and this administration's extreme political views. his nomination is being imposed on the people of nevada despite our many qualified individuals in our own state, individuals who are respected on both sides of the aisle. as if mr. vandyke's lack of any meaningful connection to the state of nevada wasn't bad enough, mr. vandyke is not even qualified to hold this post, according to the american bar association. in reviewing this nominee and speaking with dozens upon dozens of his former colleagues, the a.b.a. found mr. vandyke specifically not qualified to serve in this role. the a.b.a. has made that fi

the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, lawrence vandyke, of nevada, to be united states circuit judge for the ninth circuit. mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that following disposition of h.r. 2333, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the van dyke nomination, further the postcloture time expire at 4:15 today and the senate vote on confirmation of the nomination. further, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. further, following disposition of the lawrence vandyke nomination, and notwithstanding the rules of -- rule 22 the senate vote on cloture on sullivan, hahn and skipwith nominations, and if cloture is invoked, the confirmation votes occur at that time to be -- at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the democratic leader on thursday, december 12. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so madam president, it's no secr

>> i know lawrence vandyke, we went to law school together.g portrayed -- someone who has been on the law review, on not one but targa states in the ninth circuit, would be portrayed as lazy and incompetent? that is laughable. i'm glad the aba finally let the mask slip in this case. we all know they are a liberal special interest group. they try to play neutral on judges, but we know, empirical studies have shown, they are biased against conservatives, against women, against minorities in these ratings. this time, it was so ridiculous, the way they tried to smear him, i think it made it very clear. this is absolutely just a smear, not anything to do with his real qualifications. he is going to be an outstanding member of the ninth circuit, and this court that was once one of the most liberal in the nation, is well known for being the most likely to be overturned by the supreme court, now finally almost back to even balance, with ten trump nominees on there, 13 republican nominees all told, almost half of the ninth circuit. that's an incredible

the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, lawrence vandyke of nevada to be united states circuit judge for the ninth circuit. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of lawrence vandyke of nevada to be united states circuit judge for the ninth circuit, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session and consider calendar number 530. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ay

president trump's nominee to serve on the ninth circuit court of appeals who was recently confirmed, lawrence vandyke, raised serious concerns about his work ethic and his temperament. he was rated not qualified by the a.b.a., based on concerns about his lack of knowledge of basic procedural rules and his commitment to being truthful. six retired justices of the montana supreme court questioned his fitness when he ran for the supreme court in montana and expressed concerns about his partisanship and the possibility of corporate influence. he has opposed basic civil rights and civil liberties for the lgbtq community and made a range of statements that i think would be disqualifying under any circumstance. sarah pitlyk, whom this senate just confirmed this week to a lifetime seat on the united states district court in the eastern district of missouri, has never tried a case, neither criminal nor civil, has never taken a deposition, has never examined a witness, has never argued a motion in federal or state court. the a.b.a. unanimously rated her as unqualified for a lifetime seat in the federal judicia