General Landry Joins 21 Attorneys General in Letter to McConnell and Grassley
BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry joined 21 Republican Attorneys General in urging leaders of the United States Senate to ensure the next United States Supreme Court justice has “the same faithful adherence to the text of the Constitution that Justice Scalia exhibited throughout his tenure.”
In a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley – General Landry, General Bill Schuette (MI), General Scott Pruitt (OK), General Pam Bondi (FL), General Sean Reyes (UT), General Alan Wilson (SC), General Patrick Morrisey (WV), General Adam Laxalt (NV), General Leslie Rutledge (AR), General Wayne Stenehjem (ND), General Mike DeWine (OH), General Sam Olens (GA), General Ken Paxton (TX), General Greg Zoeller (IN), General Marty Jackley (SD), General Doug Peterson (NE), General Derek Schmidt (KS), General Brad Schimel (WI), General Luther Strange (AL), General Tim Fox (MT), and General Cynthia Coffman (CO) avowed their strong support of Senate Republicans in the fight for the Constitution.
"We are all too aware of the negative assault that is coming against the Republican Senators as the national media throws its collective weight against the GOP efforts to allow the American people to play their rightful role in the nomination of the next Supreme Court Justice. Every time the media accuses those Senators of 'not doing their job' for refusing to capitulate to the President’s demands, we must stand strong and remind all who will listen that the Senate is doing precisely the job that the Constitution gives it: to consent only to nominees who the Senate can confirm will be faithful to our Constitution,” wrote General Landry and the other Attorneys General.
They concluded with a declaration that “our next Justice of the United States Supreme Court must defend the Constitution of the United States of America and respect the rule of law.”
Full text of the letter is below:
Dear Senator McConnell and Senator Grassley:
One month ago, we lost Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the greatest jurists of our time, and a conservative icon on the Supreme Court.
Yesterday, President Obama nominated a replacement whose values and judicial philosophy stand in stark contrast to those of Justice Scalia, in order to create a liberal majority on the Court that may last for decades. Doing so at this time, while we are the midst of a heated battle for the presidency, undermines the American people’s confidence in their judicial branch by depriving them of a say in the selection of Justice Scalia’s replacement.
The American people deserve to have their voice heard in this process. That is why we applaud you for exercising the Senate’s constitutional right to advise and consent, and giving the American people a voice in the selection of their next Justice.
The past seven-plus years have shown it is critical that the Senate faithfully fulfill its constitutional duty. Time and again in his presidency, President Obama has turned a blind eye to constitutional limitations on his power, and has demanded that Congress capitulate to his will. It is precisely for this reason that the Senate needs to ensure that the newest member of the Court have the same faithful adherence to the text of the Constitution that Justice Scalia exhibited throughout his tenure. Indeed, it is times like these when we are most strongly reminded of why our Founders had the foresight to embed in our Constitution checks and balances on the President’s powers such as the Senate’s power to advise and consent.
As conservatives, we strongly support the Senate Republicans in the fight for the Constitution. And we are all too aware of the negative assault that is coming against the Republican Senators as the national media throws its collective weight against the GOP efforts to allow the American people to play their rightful role in the nomination of the next Supreme Court Justice. Every time the media accuses those Senators of “not doing their job” for refusing to capitulate to the President’s demands, we must stand strong and remind all who will listen that the Senate is doing precisely the job that the Constitution gives it: to consent only to nominees who the Senate can confirm will be faithful to our Constitution.
We are committed to acting with the same unity the GOP Senate has demonstrated to date in order to bring these issues to the forefront, to make clear to the American people what is at stake, and to rally our fellow citizens to the cause of saving the Constitution.
In closing, our next Justice of the United States Supreme Court must defend the Constitution of the United States of America and respect the rule of law.
Sincerely,
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