>>3035768 (lb)
>>3035839 (lb)
President Trump's nominee for U.S. solicitor general said the Constitution and its separation of powers is what makes America great during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings Wednesday.
While Noel Francisco's comments did not explicitly contradict the president's motto, "make America great again," he appeared to offer a competing worldview.
"I've longed believed, and I'm not alone in this, obviously, that one of the things that makes this country great is that we have a government that is bound by the Constitution and, just as importantly, a separation of powers that is enabled to enforce that," Francisco said in response to a question from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. "After all, there are lots of countries in the world, and my dear mentor who sadly passed Justice Scalia would say this often, there are many countries in the world that have bills of rights that are more detailed than ours, more beautifully written than ours, but what they don't have is a system of separated powers that enforces that Constitution."
In his opening remarks during his hearing to become the federal lawyer who argues cases before the Supreme Court, Francisco noted, "The Department of Justice's goal is not just to win, but to ensure that justice is served."
"If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, it would be the greatest honor of my professional life to stand before the Supreme Court on behalf of the citizens of this great land," Francisco said.
Democratic judiciary committee members did not grill Francisco as anticipated, instead choosing to make remarks about fired FBI Director James Comey. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein questioned the timing of Comey's firing by Trump on Tuesday evening, while Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar called for a "special prosecutor" during her opportunity to question the nominees before the committee.
Seated alongside Francisco were Steven Engel, nominated to serve as an assistant attorney general at the Office of Legal Counsel, and Makan Delrahim, nominee for an assistant attorney general position in the Antitrust Division.
Trump's dismissal of Comey was not ignored by the judiciary committee's Republican members, either. Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy addressed the nominees in brief remarks and noted the new vacancy at the FBI.
"I'm very impressed with your resumes," Kennedy told the nominees. "I just casually mention there's an opening at FBI if y'all are interested there."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/america-is-already-great-says-noel-francisco-trumps-nominee-for-solicitor-general