Prepared Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Executive Business Meeting
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Good morning.
On today’s agenda, we have 13 nominations listed.
This includes seven nominees who the Committee already favorably reported in 2025.
Because they remained pending on the floor as the first session of the 119th Congress expired, the other side forced their nominations to be returned to the President.
He’s re-nominated them, so we’ll vote on them again.
We’ll also vote on six nominees for the first time today.
These include Daniel Burrows, nominated to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy, and three district court nominees: Judge Megan Benton to the Western District of Missouri, Brian Lea to the Western District of Tennessee, and Justin Olson to the Southern District of Indiana.
For the first time, we’ll also vote on Brian Miller and Kevin Holmes to be U.S. Attorneys. I look forward to supporting each of these nominees, and I urge my colleagues to join me.
After we get through the nomination votes, we’ll consider and vote on the CLEAR Path Act.
I’ll keep my remarks short because we have a lot of ground to cover today.
Yesterday, the Department of Justice Inspector General released a Management Advisory.
That advisory says that the FBI’s Security Division under former Director Wray asked about employees’ support for President Trump, the COVID-19 vaccine and religious affiliation.
The questions were asked in the context of a security clearance review.
These questions are totally inappropriate.
Some of my whistleblowers were subjected to this political weaponization by the Security Division. And some of those Security Division employees were rightly fired by the Trump administration.
This Inspector General advisory substantiates my oversight work regarding FBI weaponization in the last administration.
Also, since Iran’s in the news again, I’d like to highlight some of my oversight from last year.
First of all, where are all of the Pro-Hamas, Anti-Israel protesters?
You’d think they’d be out here supporting the people of Iran against the repressive regime.
But, they’re nowhere to be seen.
In March of 2025, I released a majority staff report detailing whistleblower-provided records.
Those records showed that the Obama-Biden State Department obstructed law enforcement efforts to arrest high-level Iranian targets.
This obstruction, led by then-Secretary John Kerry, was done because of the political considerations of the failed Iran Nuclear Deal.
Records highlighted in this report show that former Secretary Kerry’s actions endangered national security.
The records also show that DOJ and FBI leadership apparently allowed it to happen until the first Trump administration altered course.
The Obama administration’s conduct is a roadmap of what not to do.
Turning to today’s agenda, we have a slate of highly qualified nominees, including several that we’re considering for the first time. I’d like to briefly say a word about a few of them.
Daniel Burrows is going to make an outstanding Assistant Attorney General. He’s had a well-rounded career, litigating hundreds of cases as a prosecutor and civil litigator. He’s also maintained a parallel career of military legal service in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Mr. Burrows’ breadth of experience will be an asset to DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy.
Judge Megan Benton prosecuted a broad array of matters including drug crimes and violent felonies. She’s spent the last half-decade as a judge in Missouri, presiding over civil, criminal and probate cases.
I’m confident that Judge Benton will serve on the federal bench as competently as she has at the state level.
Justin Olson served as an AUSA in the Southern District of Indiana. His efforts recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and penalties owed to the federal government. In private practice, Mr. Olson has also litigated issues of significant importance like the protection of women in college athletics.
Brian Lea clerked for Judge Carnes on the Eleventh Circuit and Justice Thomas on the Supreme Court. He’s litigated bet-the-company cases with Jones Day and taught at the University of Georgia School of Law. Most recently, he’s served as the Deputy Associate Attorney General, overseeing multiple DOJ divisions.
All three of our new judicial nominees have experience in both private practice and public service.
I look forward to supporting them, as well as all of our nominees today.
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