WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) made the following statement after voting against the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.  Judge Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed by a vote of 68 - 31. Inhofe was one of 29 U.S. Senators that voted against Sotomayor's nomination to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in 1998.

"I am very disappointed that the Senate chose to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor, especially considering that throughout her confirmation process, her explanations of past comments regarding judicial policymaking and the ability to judge fairly were often confounding, if not completely contradictory," Inhofe said.  

"From the outset, I have opposed her nomination based upon her inability to meet one very explicit requirement expected of a Supreme Court nominee - an ability to rule fairly without undue influence from one's own personal race, gender, or political preferences."