Bipartisan love fest breaks out on first day of new Congress

WASHINGTON – Congress may be broken by bitter partisanship, but for a brief moment on Tuesday there was an outbreak of bipartisan comity at a reception hosted by the man who is now third in line for the presidency.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) welcomed a large crowd of Republican and Democratic well-wishers to the wood-paneled hearing room of the Senate Finance Committee, which he now chairs, on the opening day of the 114th Congress. The reception was to celebrate his ascension to a position traditionally occupied by the longest-serving member of the Senate’s majority party: president pro tempore of the Senate.

Having served 38 continuous years in the Senate, the 80-year-old Hatch is taking up a largely ceremonial position that nonetheless puts him behind only the vice president and speaker of the House in the line of succession to the presidency.

Hatch aides said he plans to use his post to reach out to Democrats in the Senate, in hopes of crafting deals this year on tax reform, repealing the medical device tax, patent reform, immigration reform, and trade legislation.

The well-attended midday gathering was so crowded that people at times spilled out into the hall. Inside the room, lobbyists and Capitol Hill aides snacked on finger foods and ginger ale. (Hatch is a devout Mormon who doesn’t drink alcohol). And a host of fellow senators showed up to give Hatch their regards or make brief remarks during the formal portion of the event.

Most of the Democrats who attended were fellow members of the finance committee, so there was a pro forma element to their appearance. Nonetheless, a number of them offered words of praise for Hatch, including progressive star Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Warren took the microphone, draped an arm around Hatch and said she was thrilled to celebrate with “a man who is so honorable and has meant so much to this institution."

Other Democrats who came to the party included Sens. Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Ben Cardin (Md.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Mark Warner (Va.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Patrick Leahy (Vt.) and Joe Manchin (W.V.).

A liberal even more prominent than any of the Democratic senators also came to honor Hatch: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Hatch was effusive in his praise for the jurist, whom he helped get on the court.

“Ruth, we’re so proud of you and all the hard work you’ve done, and I’m glad to see you healthy and strong after that last operation. We love you and appreciate you very, very much,” Hatch said during his remarks. “Now if you’d just come my way a little bit more on court,” he said, and trailed off, as the audience broke into laughter.

Hatch played a role in Ginsburg’s 1993 nomination by President Bill Clinton to the Supreme Court, according to Hatch’s autobiography. Hatch wrote in his 2002 memoir that when Clinton consulted with him and was leaning toward nominating Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, Hatch told him Babbitt would be difficult to confirm and suggested that a Ginsburg nomination would be easier to get through the Senate.

Hatch revisited Ginsburg’s confirmation for a moment in his remarks. “She should have been approved: a great lawyer and a wonderful justice on the Supreme Court,” Hatch said.

Ginsburg left the room a few moments later, only to have conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia enter the event. Hatch, noting that he wished he’d asked Ginsburg to speak, called Scalia up to the front to say a word.

Scalia, who is the longest-serving justice on the court, noted that “Senator Hatch has sat for the confirmation hearings of so many of my colleagues, I guess from me on. So that’s everybody on the current court.”

“He voted right. He voted for me; he voted for Ruth. Both of those were good calls,” Scalia said. “He has been a stout defender of the third branch, and we are grateful for him.”

In addition to praising Ginsburg, Hatch also suggested that Senate Republicans may be ready to take a less confrontational approach to President Obama.

“We intend to go back to regular order that I think everybody will enjoy more, both Democrats and Republicans,” Hatch said. “And I hope that with regular order we don’t have to vote against many administration appointees. The president should have a right to pick who he wants to these positions, unless there are really good reasons to stop that.”