On February 24, 2016, I addressed the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee in an Ad Hoc Forum on the Supreme Court Vacancy and the Constitutional Responsibility of the Senate. Among the Senators present were Amy Klobuchar (MN); Chuck Schumer (NY), Richard Blumenthal (CN), Brian Schatz (HA), Mazie Hirono (HA), Dick Durbin (IL), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Ed Markey (MA), Debbie Stabanow (MI), Al Franken (MN), Bob Menendez (NJ), Bob Casey (PA), and Maria Cantwell (WA). Below are the brief written remarks I provided the Committee:

In a recent piece in the Washington Post, Miguel Estrada and Benjamin Wittes proclaimed that the only rule that now governs the confirmation process for Supreme Court justices "is the law of the jungle: There are no rules."

This is a profoundly misleading -- and dangerous -- statement. If taken seriously and acted upon, this misconception would undermine 225 years of well-settled tradition and throw the Supreme Court confirmation process into a state of partisan chaos that would damage both the rule of law and the Supreme Court as an institution.

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