Analysis · Floor speech · beta

Richard J. Durbin

Democrat on Nomination of Kara Marie Westercamp (Executive Calendar) 2026-07-21

676 words · 38 sentences · 48 clauses

Statement grade

B–

Average 72 / 100

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Claims 60%Positioning 17%Procedure 3%Anecdote 18%Aside 1%Reasoning 1%The ask 1%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Mr. President, Claims · 22 wordsthose seeking to recoup losses from President Trump’s disastrous tariff policies will appear before what is called the Court of International Trade. Positioning · 46 wordsAs is the case with many of President Trump’s judicial nominees in his second term, his choice to fill a vacancy on this Court Kara Westercamp was tapped because of her obvious loyalty to the President who nominated her instead of her loyalty to the law.¹PositioningUnearned certainty Claims · 97 wordsHer offensive, inflammatory, juvenile social media posts demonstrate she lacks the independence and the maturity and the temperament to be a judge. Ms. Westercamp tried to delete her old tweets so we wouldn’t see them on the committee. She failed. Our staff was able to recover them. In these tweets, Ms. Westercamp spread conspiracy theories about the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol and attacked Republicans and Democrats alike for being insufficiently loyal to President Trump. She elevated claims that the January 6 attack was ``orchestrated by Members of the Senate, ²and members of the [Capitol] police.’’ Procedure · 4 wordsLet me repeat that.Procedure Claims · 33 wordsIn her tweets, she claimed that the January 6 attack on the Capitol, which we all saw the news of, was ``orchestrated by Members of the Senate, and members of the [Capitol] police. Positioning · 9 wordsSo much for the judgment of this would-be judge.Positioning Anecdote · 74 wordsI was in this Chamber during the counting of electoral votes for the 2020 election.³ Vice President Pence was sitting where the Presiding Officer sits today. Members of Congress watched as Secret Service evacuated the Vice President.⁴ Within minutes, we were told to leave as well because a violent mob of armed insurrectionists intended to prevent the certification of the 2020 Presidential election results, which Donald Trump had lost by 7 million popular votes.⁵Anecdote Claims · 7 wordsBut Ms. Westercamp dismissed this event entirely. Procedure · 8 wordsShe retweeted a post that read--and I quote: ⁶ProcedureAnecdote · 46 wordsMr. President, did you see the video? Did you see the mob? Did you see the damage they did to this U.S. Capitol Building? Yes, we left for our lives. The Vice President was spirited out of here by the Secret Service to protect his life.Anecdote Claims · 68 wordsMs. Westercamp has also repeatedly attacked Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky for supposedly ``betraying President Trump.’’ She even called Senator McConnell ``a modern-day Benedict Arnold,’’ and she repeatedly called him ``Cocaine Mitch’’--an inflammatory nickname used by MAGA critics of Senator McConnell, the Republican Senator and former leader from Kentucky.⁷ I am not going to be able to repeat some of the things that she wrote in her tweets. Positioning · 5 wordsThey are just too much.Positioning Procedure · 9 wordsBut of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, she wrote: ProcedureClaims · 132 wordsShe crudely called him a name that I can’t repeat in the Record for not toeing the MAGA line. There is much, much more that she had to say about Senator Graham. Ms. Westercamp accused Senator Collins of Maine of prioritizing her ``own personal political power’’ over loyalty to President Trump and called for her removal, ⁸as well as the removal of Senators Murkowski and Cassidy following their vote on the second impeachment effort against the President.⁹ Ms. Westercamp even posted a sexually explicit image and joke about former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi--a post that Ms. Westercamp herself later described as ``not safe for work.’’¹⁰ Notably, it appears some of her inflammatory, overtly political posts were made while Ms. Westercamp was on duty, actually, as an attorney at the Department of Justice; ¹¹Aside · 4 wordsshe was tweeting away.Aside Reasoning · 5 wordsThat would violate Federal law. Claims · 17 wordsLast week, Leader Thune filed cloture so that we could move more quickly to Ms. Westercamp’s nomination.¹² Positioning · 28 wordsAfter you have heard about her background, what do you think as a Senator? Despite her disrespectful and inflammatory comments, she is a priority for the other side.Positioning Claims · 28 wordsIt is a disgrace that Senate Republicans are moving forward on this nomination while Senator McConnell is still in the hospital and so soon after Senator Graham’s passing.¹³ Positioning · 26 wordsJudges are chosen for judgment, for character, for maturity, for competence, for independence, and most especially, for their temperament. Ms. Westercamp does not meet that standard.Positioning The ask · 8 wordsI urge my colleagues to oppose her nomination.

At a glance

Lost points for

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 55

22 of 23 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “As is the case with many of President Trump’s judicial nominees in his second term, his choice to fill a vacancy on this Court Kara Westercamp was tapped because of her obvious loyalty to the President who nominated her instead of her loyalty to the law.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Let me repeat that.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “So much for the judgment of this would-be judge.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “I was in this Chamber during the counting of electoral votes for the 2020 election.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “Vice President Pence was sitting where the Presiding Officer sits today.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “Members of Congress watched as Secret Service evacuated the Vice President.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “Within minutes, we were told to leave as well because a violent mob of armed insurrectionists intended to prevent the certification of the 2020 Presidential election results,”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “which Donald Trump had lost by 7 million popular votes.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “She retweeted a post that read--and I quote:”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “Mr. President, did you see the video?”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “Did you see the mob?”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “Did you see the damage they did to this U.S. Capitol Building?”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “Yes, we left for our lives.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “The Vice President was spirited out of here by the Secret Service to protect his life.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “They are just too much.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “But of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, she wrote:”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
A remark off to the side of the point.What the tags mean “she was tweeting away.”An aside: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “After you have heard about her background, what do you think as a Senator?”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Despite her disrespectful and inflammatory comments, she is a priority for the other side.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Judges are chosen for judgment, for character, for maturity, for competence, for independence,”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “and most especially, for their temperament.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Ms. Westercamp does not meet that standard.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · no score

Not applicable: nothing to answer. Excluded from the average.

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue.

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 88

1 of 23 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “her obvious loyalty to the President”The word ‘obvious’ asserts certainty about her motives in place of any cited evidence.

Claims · 13

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“his choice to fill a vacancy on this Court Kara Westercamp”President Trump nominated Kara Westercamp to fill a vacancy on the Court of International Trade.search
2“orchestrated by Members of the Senate,”Kara Westercamp’s social media posts promoted claims that the January 6 attack was orchestrated by Members of the Senate and members of the Capitol police.search
3“I was in this Chamber during the counting of electoral votes for the 2020 election.”Senator Durbin was present in the Senate chamber during the counting of electoral votes for the 2020 election on January 6, 2021.search
4“Secret Service evacuated the Vice President”The Secret Service evacuated Vice President Pence from the Senate chamber during the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.search
5“which Donald Trump had lost by 7 million popular votes”Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election popular vote by 7 million votes.search
6“She retweeted a post that read”Kara Westercamp retweeted a post downplaying the January 6 attack on the Capitol.search
7“she repeatedly called him ``Cocaine Mitch’’”Kara Westercamp’s social media posts called Senator Mitch McConnell ‘a modern-day Benedict Arnold’ and repeatedly used the nickname ‘Cocaine Mitch’.search
8“Ms. Westercamp accused Senator Collins of Maine of prioritizing her ``own personal political power’’”Kara Westercamp’s social media posts accused Senator Susan Collins of prioritizing her own political power over loyalty to President Trump.search
9“the removal of Senators Murkowski and Cassidy following their vote on the second impeachment effort against the President.”Kara Westercamp called for the removal of Senators Murkowski and Cassidy after they voted in the second impeachment of President Trump.search
10“Ms. Westercamp even posted a sexually explicit image and joke about former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi”Kara Westercamp posted a sexually explicit image and joke about Nancy Pelosi, which she later described as ‘not safe for work.’search
11“as an attorney at the Department of Justice;”Kara Westercamp worked as an attorney at the Department of Justice.search
12“Last week, Leader Thune filed cloture”Senate Majority Leader Thune filed cloture on the Westercamp nomination during the week preceding July 21, 2026.search
13“while Senator McConnell is still in the hospital and so soon after Senator Graham’s passing”At the time of this speech, Senator Mitch McConnell was hospitalized and Senator Lindsey Graham had recently died.search

Analyzed on 2026-09-15