Stabenow ‘encouraged’ by Sotomayor nomination for Supreme Court

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) said she is ‘encouraged’ by the nomination of federal judge Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor was announced Tuesday morning for the post being vacated by Justice David Souter by President Barack Obama.

In a press statement, Stabenow said:

“I am encouraged that in Judge Sotomayor, the President has selected an excellent nominee that demonstrates all of these qualities.

“Her life story is truly the story of the American dream. From a public housing project in the South Bronx to the U.S. Court of Appeals on the Second Circuit, Sonia Sotomayor will bring a wealth of experience, a keen intellect, and the judicial temperament needed on our nation’s highest court.

“I look forward to a fair and swift confirmation process.”

The Stabenow statement closely mirrors a background memo sent out by the White House. From the memo:

Judge Sonia Sotomayor has lived the American dream. Born to a Puerto Rican family, she grew up in a public housing project in the South Bronx. Her parents moved to New York during World War II – her mother served in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps during the war. Her father, a factory worker with a third-grade education, died when Sotomayor was nine years old. Her mother, a nurse, then raised Sotomayor and her younger brother, Juan, now a physician in Syracuse. After her father’s death, Sotomayor turned to books for solace, and it was her new found love of Nancy Drew that inspired a love of reading and learning, a path that ultimately led her to the law.

Republicans have been mostly mum on the nomination, however, their talking points were leaked to the media earlier today. Those can be viewed at The Hill.