People . Have remote 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The hearing will come to order. I believe we have some of our colleagues who will be remote. I dont really have an opening statement. We will hear from judge wilson and a bit. We will let our colleagues from mississippi to the introduction. I will defer to senator feinstein if she was to seining first. Senator feinstein thank you very much. Today we will hear from cory wilson, nominated to a mississippi seat on the fifth Circuit Court of appeals. As i stated during the nomination hearing for the District Court in january, i am interested in judge wilsons views on a number of issues including health care, Voting Rights, womens reproductive rights, gun safety and the rights of lgbt americans. His record of opposition to the Affordable Care act is troubling, particularly because we are concerned with covid19. I hope people straighten us out on that. It has been reported judge wilson has a commitment to undermining the Affordable Care act. He has called the acas passage illegitimate. I would like him to flush that out for us as well. And encouraging the Supreme Court to overturn the aca he said this, for the sake of the constitution, i hope the Court Strikes down the law. I think that too we need to better understand. He has a troubling record on Voting Rights. According to a letter from the opposesdge wilson, free and full exercise of the franchise for communities of color. The naacp also highlighted judge wilson has been a strong supporter of voter id laws, while at the same time indicating his disdain for the concept of Voter Suppression. His record on Voting Rights is all the more relevant to his nomination for two reasons. We have seen the profound effect of the covid19 pandemic has had on americans ability to exercise the right to vote. Fifth 30 is a majority minority circuit, with people of color comprising 55 of the circuits population. Given this demographic in judge wilsons record, the naacp has written that judge wilson is singularly unsuited to hear Voting Rights cases in the circuit. I have never seen that written in my 26 years in this committee. I have concerns about jug wilsons judge wilsons temperament. In an oped he linked president obama to a for throwing teenager. Throwing teenager. In between t cap public even while serving as a state court judge, judge wilson called Hillary Clinton crooked hillary and said she was criminal and clueless. He also called congresswoman alexandria because of cortez claptrap. Tez a i will ask about these and other aspects of his record, but i find it regrettable the committee is proceeding on this nomination. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Judge wilson entered private practice after his clerkship. Commercial disputes, regulatory compliance, intellectual property and securities, insurance defense, and assorted tort claims. His practice with numerous law firms both large and small, trying four cases to verdict in 2005. He served as a white house fellow. He continued at the department of defense. Deputy secretary of state and counsel to the Mississippi State treasurer. Working in the state executive branch, he won election to the Mississippi Legislature in 2016. He served three terms before being appointed to the Mississippi Court of appeals in 2019. As of march 31, he has participated in a proximally 450 cases and authored 42 opinions. The aba rated judge wilson wellqualified. Senator, would you like to introduce the nominee . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Im delighted to be here with my colleague, senator highsmith. And to make a presentation to you and participate in introducing judge cory wilson once again to the committee. Know t trump, as you cory wilson is President Trumps nominee to serve as the u. S. Circuit judge for the added states court of appeals for the fifth circuit. Judge wilsons credentials, intellect and respect for the rule of law are wellestablished. It is significant that the , whichn Bar Association many people call the Gold Standard for assessing judicial candidates recently gave judge wilson his highest rating of wellqualified to serve on the fifth circuit. He is a native of the mississippi gulf coast. Judge wilson currently serves on the Mississippi Court of appeals as the chair just stated, where he decides appellate matters including civil, commercial, domestic and criminal appeals. He graduated summa come lottie from my alma mater, the university of mississippi. Afterwards he attended Yale Law School he served on the el law journal, yale law member of the federalist society, and was on the barristers union, which at other universities would be called the moot court. He served as a clerk for judge cox on the 11th Circuit Court of appeals. The court of appeals is not strange territory for judge wilson. He was a white house fellow at the department of defense. Before becoming a judge, judge wilson was an accomplished lawyer and served in senior roles in mississippis secretary of state and treasury offices. And also represented mississippi 73rd district or one term in the state house of representatives where he was vice chair of the Judiciary Committee. Active in hiss community is active in his community and his church, highlands presbyterian church. He and his wife stephanie, whom you met earlier this year, have one son. Distinguished Ranking Member feinstein, given his professional and academic achievements and his stronger be tatian in mississippi is a fair and impartial judge, and a good and decent man, im confident judge wilson will serve the fifth circuit and our nation well as a circuit judge. Thank you very much. Senator hydesmith. Is an honor and privilege to recommend judge cory wilson of asssissippi to serve a circuit judge on the United States court of appeals for the fifth circuit. I am grateful to you and to the Ranking Member and the distinguished members of the committee for the opportunity to speak in support of judge wilson. I have no judge wilson for many years. He is an excellent choice to serve on the judiciary. His experience as a public servant, his legal knowledge and his personal qualities will serve him and the American People well when he takes a seat on the federal bench. While i am confident the committee has reviewed his very impressive resume, i can assure you that judge has a wellrounded career that includes experience working in executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Over the years he has gained extensive and diverse litigation experience, and is wellqualified for the position and well respected by all of his colleagues. One colleague described judge wilson as an individual of good character, respectful, patient, hardworking, a good listener who is inclusive of others ideas and has the legal intelligence and knowledge of the complexities of law. Another said he wants to use this his extraordinary gift of vision, writing and oratory to accomplish great things in his home state. As you can imagine, the list of people willing to speak on behalf of judge wilson is numerous. I am thankful President Trump nominated a qualified, impressive and solid conservative candidate to this vacant seat. My colleagues and i are proud to support judge wilsonsnomination, and urge the Judiciary Committee to approve his nomination expeditiously. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you both very much. Judge wilson, would you please rise . Razor right hand. Do you swear the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god . Judge, the floor is yours. Judge wilson may i take off my mask . Thank you. Graham, Ranking Member feinstein, i want to start out today by thanking you for having this hearing and for the consideration of this committee of this nomination. I also want to thank President Trump for the confidence and the honor he has shown in me for nominating me first to the district judge for the Southern District of mississippi, and now for the fifth Circuit Court of appeals. Tois an honor of a lifetime have to be considered for this position. Senator wicker, senator hydesmith, thank you both for your strong support. You honor me by the kind words you say, but more importantly you honor me by considering me for this position as well. I thank you for that. Chairman graham, if i could acknowledge. A couple of people if i could recognize my wife, stephanie, and my son web. They are not here today. I know they are here in spirit. Without their love and support this would not be possible and it really would not be possible to do life without them. I really appreciate all their support and encouragement. I want to recognize my parents and my parentsinlaw. And all my family for their support to this process as well and for all the love and encouragement they have given to my family over the years. There are too many friends, too many family watching and rooting for me to name them. I would just like to single out the colleagues i have on the Mississippi Court of appeals. There are nine other judges on the court. It has been extraordinary privilege to serve with them on the Mississippi Court of appeals. Each and every one has taught me how to be a better judge every day i have served with them for more than a year now. Finally, i want to acknowledge judge cox. I dont know if he is watching andy, but he modeled for me i clerked for him on the 11th circuit how to be a judge. Particularly how to be an appellate judge. I learned many more lessons from him over a lifetime of mentor ship. It has been a great privilege to put those lessons into practice on the Mississippi Court of appeals. With that, i thank you and look forward to answering the committees questions. How long have you been on the Mississippi Court of appeals . Judge wilson about 15 months. I was appointed in february of 2019. Sen. Graham during your time on the court what is the jurisdiction of the court of appeals . Judge wilson its an intermediate Appellate Court. The Supreme Court gets all the appeals that are lodged from our trial courts. 70y assigned us about 60 to 60 to 70 of the appellate caseload. They retain jurisdiction over certain cases but we handle a large number of cases, about 412 last year was a number. About 50 are postconviction relief. Sen. Graham how do you get to be appointed to that position in mississippi . Judge wilson the judges on the Mississippi Court of appeals are elected. Judges on the court of appeals serve eightyear term. I was appointed by governor bryant to fill a vacancy that opened up on that court. Sen. Graham thank you. How long were you in the statehouse . Judge wilson i served about 3. 5 sessions. More than half a term. I had about a year left on the first term. Sen. Graham you worked in State Government . Judge wilson i did. I was in and out of private law practice. I spent about three years at the secretary of States Office from 2008 to 2011. I spent about a year and half of the state Treasurers Office from 2015. From 2014 to 2015. Sen. Graham senator feinstein mentioned some of the quotes. When did you make those . I will give you a chance to explain the difference between being a politician and a judge. Judge wilson thank you for that question because it is very important. In between the time i served in the secretary of States Office and served at the state Treasurers Office ever commentary for my local newspapers. My hometown papers. On the issues of the day, political debates, policy discussions. I was involved in a number of campaigns as a volunteer before i ran myself. I like to tell people when i was active in partisan elected politician i was active in partisan elective politics. Those roles are completely distinct and different than the role in which i served now as a judge. Sure you are aware, the policymaking branches of government exercise the will of the people. To be a judge on the court, any court, we are only to exercise judgment in deciding cases and controversies that come before the court in accordance with binding precedent and the statutes, the law the legislative branch next. Sen. Graham when it comes to the Supreme Court cases, do you feel bound by those if youre on the circuit . Judge wilson absolutely. The Supreme Court precedent is binding precedent, much as the state Supreme Court precedent is binding on the Mississippi Court of appeals. Sen. Graham if you could you got about a minute what would you like to accomplish . Why do you want this job and why do you think you are qualified for it . Judge wilson senator, as far as wanting this job, this is an Incredible Opportunity to serve our country. Ive had a heart for Public Service much of my adult life. I have been privileged to serve in various capacities. I passionately believe in the rule of law, the constitution, the framework that the founders bequeathed to us. Frankly, i want to play a part in making sure those values, those important features of our democratic republic are passed on to my sons generation and the generations after him. Sen. Graham senator feinstein . Senator feinstein thank you, mr. Chairman. In a 2012 oped in the Madison County journey journal, he obamacare retains an air of illegitimacy dating back to its passage. In the 2014 column you referred to the acas passage as perverse and illegitimate. How is the Affordable Care act illegitimate and how is it perverse . Judge wilson senator, if i could i would like to say i share your commitment certainly is a policy maker, health care is an important issue. When i was in more of a policymaking mode i wrote these columns when i was active in politics. Columnsferring in those about the various policy features of the Affordable Care act, some of the politics involved, political questions. In way the bill was passed various aspects with which i did not necessarily agree. As a matter of policy and politics, i fully recognize, senator, my role as a judge is completely different than the role as a commentator or a politician, even in the legislative branch of government. At that time i wrote those, the Supreme Court had not issued one of the columns you referenced had not settled some of the legal issues. I wrote about that as well. Mainly i was writing about the political questions and policy issues related to the Affordable Care act. Sen. Feinstein let me ask this question. The words perverse and illegitimate bother me. If you are confirmed, how can a person seeking to enforce rights under the Affordable Care act have confidence you will rule fairly in light of your view . Judge wilson i think the first thing a litigant can do is look at my record on the Mississippi Court of appeals. I have participated in about 500 cases at this. Point and every one of those cases i endeavored to follow the law, to apply precedent fairly and fully, and to apply the statutes according to the plaintext and added by the enacted by the legislature. I will continue to do that, whichever court i may serve. I think that highlights the difference between serving as a judge and serving as a legislator or as someone involved in elective politics. Sen. Feinstein you have advocated striking down the act. Thatou telling us today that will not be your position . Judge wilson senator, when i wrote those columns i was in the policymaking realm or political realm. Versus o subalius, i find it binding. Sen. Feinstein i would like to be able to vote for you. But if i know ahead of time you will strike down a very important law covering a large number of people at getting them care they did not have before, i cant vote for you. Would it be your intent to strike down the Affordable Care act, yes or no . Judge wilson no, senator. I think many of the questions i debated and discussed in the commentary were unsettled questions that that question at that time. When the Supreme Court handed down nfib or the king versus burwell opinion around 2015, those issues are settled for courts to apply that president faithfully and i would do so precedent faithfully and i would do so. Sen. Feinstein that is helpful. Thank you. I askedgrassley questions different to you from other judges. For the last four or five years at least. For one exception ive been asking about more recently is because there has been such an explosion of nationwide injunctions by some of our judges, particularly district or judges. Is it ever appropriate for a federal judge to issue a nationwide injunction blocking the limitation of federal law, Administrative Agency decisions, executive order or any similar federal p