Klobuchar Asks Judicial Nom Point Blank: Do You Think The President Is Able To Do Anything He Wants?

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Uh, Mr. Flowers, in 2020, as Ohio Solicitor General, you filed an AMA's brief in a Supreme Court case that asked the court to challenge the administration of the 2020 election in Pennsylvania. Uh, the president has now issued an executive order to overhaul our nation's elections and assert federal control over state-run elections. Minnesota and 18 others state sued and won a preliminary injunction.

[00:00:25]Do you agree with what the judge presiding in that case wrote? He said or she said the Constitution does not grant the president any specific powers over elections.

[00:00:37]>> So, Senator, I can't comment on as a judicial nominee on any pending litigation and as you described it, it sounds as though this this litigation is pending. So, I I believe I shouldn't say anything.

[00:00:48]>> Okay. Um, I will note that you did sign this brief and um, I'm reminded of one of our colleagues said when we had a nominee in front of us, Caitlyn Halagan, u be where questions were raised of a brief she filed a solicitor general in New York and our one of our colleagues said um, some of our colleagues have argued that we should not consider this aspect of her record because at the time she was working as a solicitor general of New York, but no one forced her to approve and sign the brief. And I think that that we should consider that as we look at your record, Mr. Schwarz, uh, President Trump has claimed, "I have an article two where I have the right to do whatever I want as president." He has said, "I have the right to do anything I want to do. I am president of the United States." Do you believe that the president is able to do anything he wants to do?

[00:01:40]So, Senator, uh, without commenting on those specific words, and I I don't know the context for them, we obviously have a constitutional system of checks and balances, the executive branch is obviously very strong in certain areas and has tremendous amounts of power and discretion, and in other areas, the other branches have power and discretion, and there's a balance amongst them. Um, so Senator, without knowing the context of that, I really couldn't comment further on it.

[00:02:06]>> Okay. Um, Mr. flowers. As solicitor general, you defended Ohio's law that banned abortion before most uh women know they're pregnant at just 6 weeks.

[00:02:16]Uh which included no exceptions for rape or incense, incest. And as you know, a 10-year-old girl in Ohio got pregnant when she was raped following her rape.

[00:02:27]She couldn't get the care she needed at home and because she was 3 days past Ohio's 6 week limit and there was no exception for rape. So, she had to travel to Indiana to get access to abortion care. You urged the court to lift a trial judge's preliminary injunction of Ohio's abortion ban, arguing each day the law was enjoined, it inflicted quote irreparable harm and quote on the state. Do you believe that this girl and other women in the state who were impacted by the law suffered irreparable harm?

[00:03:00]>> Uh, Senator, anyone who's raped, and particularly a child, suffers irreparable harm. There's no doubt about that. As solicitor general, my job was to defend the laws of the state. And if I had a good faith basis for doing so, I would do that. And again, that was true regardless of whether the law had a liberal or conservative veilance, I defended them all when we had a valid constitutional basis to do so. Well, given that you argued the court should uphold Ohio's law a full year after this incident with this 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped, what would you say to litigants who question that you can be evenhanded in applying the law, including to women trying to vindicate their rights? Um, Senator, it will be my uh top priority to ensure the litigants, as I said about Chief Judge Sutton, recognize that I'm fairly considering the cases that come before me. In the case to which you're referring, when we argued for irreparable harm, we were relying on a doctrine that says that when a state law is joined, it's enjoined that is per se irreparable harm. So, all I was doing was advancing settled legal principles as applied to that case.

[00:04:03]I think a judge's job is to apply the law to the facts and I'm just looking at the facts of that case and I think most people would believe that it was the girl suffering irreparable harm. U Mr. Flowers, you've argued that timidly, those are your words, timidly following the principles of textualism and judicial restraint is quote unacceptable for the conservative movement of today which seeks to reverse not just arrest our national decline. of movement that wants to kneecap the administrative state will not be satisfied with a court content merely to erect some hurdles.

[00:04:40]What agencies do you want to kneecap?

[00:04:44]>> Um, Senator, I didn't say that I'd want to kneecap any agencies and I couldn't express views on policy matters. Anyway, what I was addressing in that article was particularly the Supreme Court and certain resistance to textualism among some younger attorneys that I was meeting at law schools. I was not saying that those are my personal views.

[00:05:03]>> But is the quote not a movement that wants to kneecap the administrative state? What is the administrative state if it's not agencies of the United States government?

[00:05:14]>> So Senator, I wasn't describing my views. I was saying that for the people who wish to curtail administrative powers, they would not be content with a certain approach to textualism. And I was speaking only about the Supreme Court. As a circuit nominee, I'd be bound by precedents of the Supreme Court and I'd faithfully apply them.

[00:05:30]>> And I just want to note one agency. Um, the FTC helps enforce our antitrust laws, something I care a lot about, as does uh the chairman. Um, and it has put millions of dollars back in Americans pocketbooks. In 2024, the FTC returned $337 million to refunds in consumers.

[00:05:50]It's just one example. um when I hear the words from a nominee that they want to kneecap uh the administrative state and that is not to say we don't need reforms and laws passed to make things work better but to me uh that just makes me really concerned of impartiality when it comes to a judge. Uh thank you.

[00:06:09]>> Thank you. Before I call on said rumors.