Updates from Senator Hatch

Hatch Urges Swift Movement on Judges

Washington, D.C.—On Wednesday, the White House announced a new slate of 11 judicial nominees in an effort to fill more than 120 openings on the federal bench. Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, commented about the importance of these lower courts and committed to act quickly to fill these critical vacancies.

The confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch was a defining moment for our democracy, ensuring that a textual interpretation of the Constitution continues to take precedence in our nation’s highest court,” Senator Hatch said. “In keeping with his commitment to preserve the integrity of the federal judiciary, I’m pleased that the President has nominated slates of principled judges to the lower courts as well. These courts exercise tremendous power, determining the bulk of our nation’s actual cases and controversies and providing the first—and often dispositive—judicial take on emerging issues.

President Obama understood the singular importance of the lower courts, which is why he was so vigorous in appointing judges with a greater commitment to the liberal political agenda than to our Constitution. During his tenure, President Obama resorted to extreme measures to fill more than 40 percent of the federal judiciary with such activist judges.

The time has come to right the wrongs of the previous administration. I look forward to working closely with Chairman Grassley and the White House to advance the President's nominees. These supremely qualified jurists will restore respect and credibility to the judicial branch by saying what the law is—not what it ought to be.

Senator Hatch’s History on Judicial Confirmations

• Senator Hatch has participated in the appointment of 1,849 judges to the U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, and U.S. Supreme Court.  This is 49 percent of the judges ever appointed to those positions. 
  • This includes 72 percent of the judges ever appointed to the U.S. District Court in Utah, and 58 percent of the judges ever appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which includes Utah.
• Senator Hatch’s service has included every partisan configuration of the judicial appointment process.
• Senator Hatch’s service has covered the entire transformation of the judicial appointment process: From 1977, confirming a record 258 judges in a four-year period with 98 percent of them confirmed without a roll call vote, to the present-day confirmation process.
• Senator Hatch has long participated in the debate about the power and proper role of judges in the federal government.
• In 1987, Senator Hatch and then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden engaged in a well-publicized debate about the Senate’s proper role in the judicial appointment process.
• In 1997, as the Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Hatch addressed the problem of judicial activism, warning against the appointment of judges “who are substituting their own personal preferences for what the law really is.”
• In 2009, Senator Hatch gave a speech at Harvard Law School that outlined how the Constitution’s principles should guide the judicial selection process.
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