'How Concerned Are You About These Nationwide Injunctions?': Ted Cruz Questions Top DOJ Nominees

Forbes Breaking News

At Thursday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) questioned DOJ nominees.

Transcript

00:00I'm happy to recognize you.

00:01They're really enjoying my lengthy, lengthy questions.

00:04They've been praying you would arrive.

00:09The chair recognizes Senator Cruz.

00:17I appreciate the always loquacious senator from Missouri,

00:21and I hope you did not have to resort to your own personal poetry to fill the time.

00:28That was going to be next.

00:30Well, then I apologize for depriving you of that particular joy.

00:35Let me start by welcoming today's nominees.

00:37Mr. Squires, Mr. Edlow, Mr. Geyser, Mr. Woodward,

00:40I am grateful that the president has nominated each of you

00:43to step into these critical roles at such a pivotal time for the Trump administration.

00:48Over the past several months, President Trump has governed with clarity, purpose, and boldness.

00:54He's issued executive orders to do what the American people demanded at the ballot box,

00:59eliminate crime in our streets, secure the southern border,

01:03and put the federal government firmly back on the side of law-abiding citizens.

01:08Under his leadership, the Department of Justice is no longer targeting political opponents.

01:13It is targeting violent criminals and criminal cartels.

01:16It's restoring order to a system that, for years, was being used to punish dissent and to reward lawlessness.

01:26Attorney General Pam Bondi is advancing that mission with energy and resolve.

01:31But make no mistake, the far-left resistance is organized, lawless, and aggressive.

01:39Far-left activist groups are flooding the courts in D.C., Boston, and San Francisco

01:44with lawsuits designed not to win on the law, but to block the president's agenda through judicial activism.

01:52And too many judges are going along with it.

01:54In just the last four months, more nationwide injunctions have been issued by lone district judges

02:04than in the entire 20th century.

02:10Let me repeat that.

02:12In four months, we have seen more nationwide injunctions

02:18than America had seen in the entire 20th century.

02:25That's not oversight.

02:27That's obstruction.

02:29That is activism.

02:31One plaintiff in one courtroom is now able to freeze federal policy for 340 million Americans.

02:39This is not justice.

02:42It's political sabotage from the bench.

02:46And it's happening because the left can't win at the ballot box.

02:50It turns out releasing murderers, rapists, and child molesters, releasing gang members

02:56is not a popular policy with the voters.

03:00But with left-wing radical judges, that's a different story.

03:07That's why your nominations matter.

03:09The administration needs serious, principled leaders,

03:12men and women who know the law,

03:15who have the backbone to carry it out in the face of political pressure.

03:19And the American people deserve a DOJ, a USCIS, and a USPTO

03:25that defends their rights, secures their communities, and follows the Constitution,

03:31not simply the edict of activist judges.

03:36Each of you has a critical role to play in that.

03:42Mr. Woodward, you've defended clients in some of the most politically charged cases in the country.

03:49If confirmed, how will you ensure that the DOJ's civil division resists political pressure,

03:56not just from the outside, but from within, and returns to equal enforcement of the law?

04:01Senator, thank you for the question.

04:05Thank you also for the opportunity to meet in advance of this hearing.

04:09It's an important question, and I don't want my answer to be taken lightly,

04:13but I'm not at all intimidated by political pressure.

04:15As I have demonstrated through my career,

04:18people have taken issue with lots of the work that I have done.

04:22And for me, what's important is ensuring that the law is upheld,

04:28that the Constitution is respected.

04:30And I can assure you, Senator, that if confirmed,

04:32I will make sure that the Department of Justice does just that,

04:35that we root out the weaponization that has been so long embedded therein.

04:39We will find it.

04:39We will eliminate it.

04:40It will cease to exist.

04:44You've seen firsthand how prosecutions can be weaponized.

04:48What safeguards do you intend to implement to prevent civil enforcement

04:52from becoming a political tool?

04:55Senator, I appreciate that question.

04:57As counselor to the Attorney General,

04:58I'm already working with the Attorney General to build those safeguards in.

05:02There are hundreds and hundreds of cases that are litigated by the Department of Justice.

05:05We need to know what they are.

05:07We need to identify them.

05:07We need to be prepared to understand what the arguments are.

05:10I will work very closely with the deputies that have been confirmed by the Senate

05:15and that are acting in that capacity.

05:17We will find those cases.

05:19We will organize.

05:20One of the reasons I would be so blessed to come to the department

05:22is to help organize that litigation.

05:25It's something that I've done in the past at my law firm

05:27and at the law firm that I worked before that.

05:29I'm confident that I can do it if you give me the chance.

05:32The Associate Attorney General oversees the Civil Division,

05:35Civil Rights, Antitrust, and other major components.

05:39What is your top priority for restoring public trust in those divisions?

05:44Senator, again, I hope I'm not making light of the question because the answer is easy.

05:50Follow the law.

05:56Mr. Geiser, you clerked for three of the most respected constitutionalists in the federal judiciary,

06:03Judge Edith Jones, Judge Naomi Rao, and Justice Samuel Alito.

06:07All three are friends of mine.

06:09All three I respect deeply.

06:12How did those experiences shape your legal philosophy,

06:16particularly regarding the role of the executive branch in faithfully executing the law?

06:21Well, thank you so much for that question, Senator Cruz.

06:25When you're a law clerk, your first task is to do your best to state the law

06:30in a way that the judge can use your work.

06:33And you're not the decider.

06:35You're there to do research, to provide your independent, candid, and honest view of the law.

06:40And should I be so fortunate to be confirmed as the Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel,

06:47that would be my primary aim, to always provide the best reading of the law

06:51and the best legal advice that I could give based on the questions that the Office of Legal Counsel receives.

06:58And Mr. Squires, the PTAB was created to improve patent quality

07:04and to provide a faster, cost-effective alternative to litigation.

07:09But in recent years, many small inventors and startups have expressed concern

07:13that it disproportionately favors large challengers

07:17and undermines the value of their patents,

07:20that it is effectively an arm of big tech.

07:23What is your assessment of those concerns,

07:25and do you believe the system is functioning as Congress intended?

07:30Thank you for the question, Senator.

07:31Senator, I think if you look at the data, the concerns are in plain sight.

07:36The IPRs themselves have a 68% defect rate, if you will.

07:42If the American patent system is a factory,

07:4468% of the products we put out are found effective in a later proceeding.

07:50So the way to address it is to have patents,

07:53if I can harken back to my opening statement, born strong.

07:57We need to be able to incentivize getting the prior in,

08:01at the examination stage or closely thereafter.

08:05And having the improved quality, I think, will alleviate many concerns.

08:09There's also concern I have with IPRs that if, in fact,

08:13there is this priority out there in validating patents at these great rates,

08:17is it or is it not getting back into the system and the examination on the front end

08:21so it can be applied when the applicants are asking for rights?

08:25Okay, and a final question to Mr. Geiser and Mr. Woodward.

08:30I talked about the avalanche of nationwide injunctions we're seeing from individual district judges.

08:37How concerned are you about these nationwide injunctions

08:44and what can be done to ensure that judges stay in their proper lane

08:49rather than trying to subvert the authority of the president

08:53and the will of the people who elected him?

08:56Mr. Geiser, we'll start with you.

08:57Well, thank you, Senator Cruz.

08:58As Solicitor General of Ohio, I have the privilege of defending Ohio's laws

09:02against statewide injunctions that are sometimes sought.

09:05And I always make the same argument,

09:07that courts are empowered to offer relief no broader than necessary or burdensome

09:13than necessary to redress the injury of those who are properly parties before the court.

09:17I think courts should follow that guidance,

09:20which the U.S. Supreme Court has long established

09:22and dates back all the way to the Anglo-American legal tradition in equity.

09:26Mr. Woodward?

09:29Senator, I am very, very concerned.

09:32It should not be the case that a president duly elected

09:34then has to convince 600 individual judges

09:38to enforce the policy prerogatives of that administration.

09:42This is a bipartisan problem.

09:44This is a problem that has persisted, as you observed, for some time now.

09:48It is a problem before the Supreme Court,

09:50and of course it is the policy of the Department of Justice,

09:52not the comment on ongoing litigation.

09:54But candidly, it's a problem I'm not sure the Supreme Court will solve.

09:58You know, as I look in the Constitution,

10:01Article 3 doesn't seem to have any discussion of nationwide injunctions in it.

10:05And so it's a dubious one, to be sure.

10:08Let me be clear, however, is that it is not a problem I am unafraid to face.

10:11If confirmed, we will take on all of the litigation in these courts.

10:15We will defend the president's prerogatives.

10:16And as a criminal defense attorney, I can tell you that I'm used to losing in the district court.

10:21We make our record, and that's why God invented the Court of Appeals.

10:25Amen.

10:26Let me thank each of the nominees.

10:29Thank you for being here today.

10:31Written questions to the nominees may be submitted for the record until May 28th at 5 p.m.

10:37And with that, this is...

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