Business meeting to consider the nominations of Andrew Duva, of Florida, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Robert P. Chamberlin, and James D. Maxwell II, both to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi, William J. Crain, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Alexander C. Van Hook, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, William Boyle, to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Erin Creegan, to be United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire, Ryan Anthony Kriegshauser, to be United States Attorney for the District of Kansas, James Kruger, to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Scott Leary, to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, and Richard Price, to be United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Committee on the Judiciary

2025-11-20

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The meeting commenced with an overview of the agenda, which included voting on eleven nominations, with some to be held over for future consideration.[ 00:27:48-00:28:12 ]

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 Several nominations for Assistant Attorney General, District Judges, and U.S. Attorneys were put to a vote, with many receiving favorable reports to the floor.[ 00:27:57-00:28:11 ]

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Themes

Judicial Nominations and the ABA

Senator Grassley highlighted a study from NYU and UVA that found President Trump's judicial nominees to be highly productive, independent, and less partisan than those from other administrations, contradicting claims from Democratic colleagues.[ 00:30:26-00:32:45 ]

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 He proudly stated that the Judiciary Committee would continue to advance qualified nominees. [ 00:32:55-00:33:00 ]

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 In contrast, Senator Durbin criticized the committee for eliminating American Bar Association (ABA) ratings for judicial nominees, suggesting it was an attempt to avoid scrutiny of potentially unqualified candidates put forward by the Trump administration.

Concerns Regarding Special Counsel Jack Smith's Investigation

Senator Grassley provided an update on "Arctic Frost," expressing concern over the Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation, which has targeted phone records of at least 14 Republican members of Congress.[ 00:28:14-00:28:20 ]

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 He questioned Smith's credibility and willingness to cooperate, citing Smith's refusal to answer questions about meetings with the FBI Director and the use of non-government devices, despite later documented evidence of such a meeting.[ 00:28:39-00:28:54 ]

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 Grassley also noted discrepancies in subpoena scopes, which he believes undermine Smith's claims of narrow targeting.[ 00:29:01-00:29:16 ]

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Epstein Case Transparency

Senator Grassley renewed his call for transparency in the Epstein matter, applauding the recent passage of a resolution and urging the Justice Department to release relevant records that the Biden administration has yet to provide.[ 00:29:23-00:29:54 ]

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 He emphasized that victims deserve the committee's maximum effort. [ 00:29:54 ]

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January 6th Events and Presidential Pardons

Senator Durbin powerfully recounted the January 6th attack, asserting that former President Trump and his "mega allies" were the architects of the event to subvert the will of the American people. He condemned Trump's recent pardons of over 1,500 January 6th rioters and others, including individuals convicted of serious crimes such as conspiracy, threatening FBI agents, and child sexual abuse. Durbin also alleged an "unprecedented purge" within the FBI and Justice Department targeting officials involved in January 6th investigations, comparing these actions to historical revisionism.

Immigration Enforcement and Political Silence

Senator Durbin criticized the Trump administration's immigration policies, particularly "Operation Midway Blitz" in Illinois, arguing that the majority of those arrested do not pose a public safety risk. He chastised Republican colleagues for their silence on these issues, suggesting it stems from a fear of political retribution and poses a threat to democracy. Senator Tillis, while sympathetic to some of Durbin's points, attributed increased Border Patrol activity in North Carolina to local "sanctuary city" policies and requested accountability from Homeland Security regarding detentions and property damage.

Tone

The meeting's tone was predominantly contentious and highly partisan.[ 00:29:57-00:30:14 ]

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 While Senator Grassley delivered criticisms and highlighted what he viewed as positive outcomes, Senator Durbin expressed strong opposition and severe condemnation of former President Trump's actions and policies.[ 00:28:14-00:29:19 ]

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 The exchanges demonstrated deep ideological divides and political tensions. [ 00:29:57-00:33:00 ]

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Participants

Transcript

Morning.  Thanks to the members that have arrived on time.  On today's agenda, we have 11 nominations listed.  We'll vote today on A, Tyson Duva, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, William Crane,   Alexander Van Hook, District Judges Louisiana, James Maxwell, Robert Chamberlain, District Judges Mississippi, Ryan Kriegsenhauser, Aaron Cregan, Scott Leary, and James Krueger to be U.S.  Attorneys.  We'll hold over other nominations for future consideration.   I'd like to give an update on Arctic Frost.  Since last week, the number of congressional phone records targeted by Jack Smith has increased.  It's now at least 14 members of Congress, obviously all Republicans, including former House Speaker McCarthy and former Congressman Gohmert.  I expect there will still be more   when we get more documentation.  Jack Smith claims that he wants to tell his story to Congress, but when I asked Smith whether he met with FBI Director Wray, he refused to answer that question.  I've since released documents that show Smith met with FBI Director Wray May 24th, 2023,   Smith could have answered Congress, but chose not to answer that question.  I've also asked Smith if he used non-government devices for official words.
That's a pretty simple question, and no answer from Smith.  Lastly, Smith previously said this about the subpoena targeting eight senators and one congressman.   Quote, the total data collection was narrowly tailored and limited to four days from January 4th, 2021 to January 7th, 2021, end of quote.  Notably, the subpoenas for McCarthy and Gohmert requested records from November 3rd, 2020 through January 8th,   All of these facts undermine Smith's credibility as well as his actual willingness to cooperate with us.  This broader scope demands explanation.  The committee will continue its review and hold robust hearings.  Next, I want to turn to the Epstein matter.  For years, I've sought transparency.   As chairman of this committee, I've made bipartisan requests for the information.  I applaud the passage of the Epstein resolution.  I'll continue to push the Justice Department to release records, which Biden administration failed to do.  The victims deserve our maximum effort.  Now I'd like to say a few words about judges.  This Congress   Many of my Democrat colleagues have alleged that President Trump nominates historically bad judicial nominees.  One member of this committee that I'm not going to name even described President Trump's judicial nominees as, quote, the most extreme and unqualified judicial nominations
nominees ever considered by the Senate."  So, it's legitimate to ask whether my colleagues are right with their statements.  Based upon a recent study by professors at New York University and the University of Virginia, the answer is a resounding no.  The study   by Virginia and New York universities, considered objective, nonpartisan metrics to determine a judge's productivity, the judge's quality, and the judge's independence.  It then compared results from the first Trump administration, the Biden administration,   and the Obama administrations.  According to the study, President Trump's judges are quote-unquote dominating the field.  In fact, the study found that the top 10 most productive judges were all Trump nominees.  And productivity isn't the only metric where Trump's appointed judges outperformed.   Let's take judicial independence.  After all, my Democratic colleagues frequently allege that President Trump only picks loyalists.  Surely this would be where President Biden and President Obama's nominees shined.  And I just think, as I read reports this week of a couple decisions,   I forget what districts the states were in, but we had two Trump nominees overrule Trump.
And on one occasion, I think dealing with the Texas reapportionment, there was a two to one decision in the Fifth Circuit that said that the Texas   Reapportionment was not according to law.

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