Clement’s SG Confirmation Hearing
on Apr 28, 2005 at 7:24 pm
There may be a great deal of acrimony and debate on Capitol Hill about some of the President’s nominations–but the nomination of Acting SG Paul Clement to be Solicitor General isn’t one of them. Clement’s hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary yesterday morning came and went with virtually no press coverage, and no tumult: I’m told that it lasted all of 26 minutes. As this article in GovExec.com indicates, at age 38, Clement would be the youngest SG since William Howard Taft (who was 32). “Asked about this comparison with the last president to have facial hair and the only one to ever get stuck in the White House while bathing, the svelte Clement replied, ‘So far, I have managed to make it out of the bathtub.'” As the article’s quotation from former Acting SG Walter Dellinger indicates, Clement’s service in the SG’s Office, and his nomination, have been lauded by a diverse range of observers, advocates, and fellow DOJ employees (myself included).
Senator Leahy’s prepared statement on the Clement nomination can be found here.
