On 3/8/2022, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) debated committee member Sen. Tom Cotton over his blockade of Justice Department nominees, saying the Arkansas Republican is “in the process of defunding law enforcement at the federal level.” “Senator from Arkansas is raising an issue which we’ve raised on the floor several times. He’s put a hold on six U.S. attorneys and two U.S. marshals, and, as a consequence, their posts remain vacant during this period of time. He is actually in the process of defunding law enforcement at the federal level,” Durbin said.

Cotton shot back at Durbin later in the hearing, vowing to stall more nominees if need be, “If Merrick Garland and Joe Biden thinks that they’re going to get their political nominees in this department fast-tracked to the Senate while they are hanging career law enforcement officers out to dry, they’ve got another thing coming,” Cotton said.

“And I’ll just correct what the chairman said. It’s not a handful of U.S. attorneys and U.S. marshals. It’s every political nominee in the department and every political nominee in the department will not get fast-tracked through this committee or the floor until these marshals get represented or until they give an answer.”

The nominations of six U.S. attorneys and two U.S. marshals are currently stalled in the Senate by Cotton over his concerns regarding several federal employees who have been sued in connection with protests in Portland in 2020. Representation was denied to one marshal and three other cases are pending review.

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Why is it so darn difficult to get a simple answer to a simple question? political nominees fast-tracked while marshals not represented.