Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing

September 16, 2026 Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing WASHINGTON – During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered an opening statement in which he slammed President Trump and the Trump Administration for the blatant weaponization and politicization of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Today’s Committee hearing will consider the nominations of Daniel Ballou, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Richard Bennett, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas; Courtney Coker, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas; Trevor Pemberton, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma; Kyle Reardon, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska; and Zachary West, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Key Quotes: “Historically, the Justice Department has been afforded a presumption of regularity, meaning that courts presume that an [Assistant U.S. Attorney’s] representations can be trusted—deference not afforded to many private litigants.” “But the Justice Department under this President and Attorney General has upended this presumption of regularity by weaponizing the Department of Justice to protect the President and his followers and target anyone who dares to cross him.” “As a result, federal judges across the country, even those appointed by Presidents of the Republican Party, have found that the Justice Department has made misrepresentations to the court—an egregious act for any officer of the court, let alone a federal prosecutor. From January 2025 to March 2026, judges in at least 90 cases stated on the record that they distrusted the Justice Department’s representations.” “With the midterms fast approaching, the Trump Administration is using the vast resources of the Justice Department to politicize the agency and interfere with the election. Look no further than Attorney General Blanche’s speech last week at the Republican midterm convention in Texas, the first time a sitting attorney general has spoken at a party convention in decades. Instead of avoiding partisan rallies or any actions that that could create the impression of interfering in the electoral process, the Attorney General did just the opposite.” “The Justice Department has sued 30 states seeking unredacted voter lists, including personal information like driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers, all in an attempt to prove there is widespread voter fraud that has never been established.” “After not winning a single case and losing 23 of them, President Trump and Attorney General Blanche have turned in their desperation to intimidating state election officials and voters—even at polling sites.” “Just weeks ago, DOJ election monitors showed up unannounced at polling locations in Wyoming during primary elections, trying to interview voters and examining voting machines.” “At a time when DOJ has upended norms and traditions so drastically that it has lost the presumption of regularity in many courtrooms, it is more important than ever that the federal judiciary hold this weaponized agency to account. I hope the nominees before us today can demonstrate that they will do that by putting the rule of law above partisan politics.” Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here . Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here . Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations. -30- Print Email Share Tweet