Senator Frist Discusses Judicial Nominations on Fox News

May 25, 2003

The Majority Leader was on Fox News Sunday this weekend. Below is a transcript of his comments regarding the filibusters of Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen, the prospects for a rule change as proposed on May 9, and calls for more aggressive parliamentary tactics to ensure that that the Senate can act on the President's nominees.

TONY SNOW: A great cause of concern among Republican activists is the inability to get a couple of federal judges approved, in particular Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owens.

Democrats have been filibustering. The first vote you ever cast in the United States Senate was to deny a Democratic request to put an end to the filibuster. Was that a wrong vote?

SENATOR FRIST: That was Richard [Paez], and we didn't have the information at that point in time. And it's not appropriate to ask for more information, and indeed we got that information, and he ultimately got, the only thing that we're asking for and that is an up-or-down vote in the United States Senate.

And, yes, I asked for more information. We got the information, allowed the vote.

What we are seeing now is unprecedented in the history of the country: a partisan -- partisan filibuster of a circuit court judge. It simply hasn't been done in the last 200 years of this country.

SNOW: So there is talk now -- Zell Miller has a plan, Trent Lott says he's going to advance a plan, a number of people are putting together plans to eliminate, at least for the purposes of federal judges, or maybe eliminate entirely, the use of filibuster in such ways.

Do you think there's going to be a change in the filibuster rule this year?

FRIST: The United States Senate, again, under advice and consent, that's our only responsibility, deserves an up-or-down vote -- or each of these nominees deserve an up-or-down vote.

The Democrats, for the first time in history are saying, "No, you can't have an up-or-down vote." Therefore, since it's new to history, yes, we need go back consistent with the Constitution.

The way to do it is change precedent or change the rules. As majority leader I think that we need to change the rules, and basically say that every nominee, doesn't have to be confirmed, no rubber stamp, but deserves an up-or-down vote.

And the way to do that is to change the rules. We'll have a hearing on a proposal put forth by Zell Miller and myself in about a week and a half, and I'm very hopeful that we will be able to change the rules in the United States Senate.

SNOW: Now, can they filibuster that rule, or is this something you can get through on a 51 ...

FRIST: Well, well, no, they can filibuster the rule itself, and it takes two-thirds majority to change the rules.

You'll also see other fronts under way. Some people will sue the United States Senate to try to change the interpretation of advice and consent.

SNOW: Are you supporting those lawsuits?

FRIST: I am not right now. They have not been filed yet. Or they haven't been filed by any of the senators yet.

SNOW: Well, when they're filed, will you know about them?

FRIST: Oh, I'll know about them. I'm not sure, as part of the Senate, it may be me being sued because of the -- we'll see, but you have the lawsuits, you have what I'm trying to do is change the rules of the Senate, consistent with our 200-year heritage, you also have precedent, and you'll hear about this strategy talked about and written about where you can, using a constitutional or parliamentary move, actually usher these candidates through.

Remember, Miguel Estrada has 55 votes in the Senate, if they'd just let us vote. And Priscilla Owen has. And that's another alternative, and in also just trying to break the filibuster.

SNOW: That's the so-called nuclear option.

FRIST: The call it the nuclear option?

SNOW: Are you prepared to use it?

FRIST: No, not at this juncture, because I don't think it's necessary at this juncture. I think we ought to work through the Senate procedure, change the rules consistent with our 200-year history.

At the end of the day, the Democrats are obstructing advise and consent, that constitutional power given to the United States Senate, in not allowing a simple up-or-down vote on the president's nominees.

Just an up-or-down vote, if they lose, they lose and we move on.

SNOW: Can you guarantee that Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen will get their votes on the Senate floor?

FRIST: No, I can't guarantee. I can say that it is inexcusable to have this unprecedented filibuster of these judicial nominees, unprecedented in the history of the country, and that as majority leader I will fight each and every day in order to get a simple up-or- down vote on Miguel Estrada, Priscilla Owen.

And it looks like the Democrats are going to filibuster a whole series of judges coming through. And they may be just be trying to get ready for the Supreme Court nominee. I don't know that yet.

So all I can say you got Miguel Estrada, the embodiment of the American dream, the American Bar Association gives it his highest rating, and they won't give us an up-or-down vote. It's inexcusable.

SNOW: All right, why not simply make them talk until they're blue in the face? An old-fashioned filibuster, why not do that? I get e-mails all the time, people want me to ask you that question.

FRIST: Yes, I do, too. Yes, I do, too, and because of the Senate rules, the cloture rules that we were just talking about, and going into quorum calls, you literally cannot have somebody be made to stand on the Senate floor and continue talking.

They can talk for 15 seconds and then go into a quorum call, and then you bring people in, 50, 51 votes, so you can't have really the old, classic filibuster.

You know, we've gone to 2 o'clock in the morning talking on these various issues, you could go another three or four hours, but you really can't really have the old, classic filibuster.