Tag: judicial nominees

The GOP is confirming Trump judicial nominees it stalled under Obama

Judges couldn’t get a vote when Obama was president. They’re getting on the bench under Trump

At least 10 judicial nominees who couldn’t even get a confirmation vote in the final years of President Barack Obama’s administration ended up on the bench after Donald Trump’s election.

Those nominees, blocked by Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans while Obama was in the White House, got a second chance. Rather than blocking them under Trump, McConnell sought to speed up the confirmation process. Thanks to the shift in political priorities, Republicans confirmed them with bipartisan support.

About 1 in 15 of the judges confirmed during the Trump administration were first nominated by Obama, a CQ Roll Call analysis found. Several more Obama nominees who were renominated by Trump are still awaiting a Senate vote.

View the complete August 26 article by Chris Cioffi on The Roll Call website here.

Speeding to the Right

The following article by Joseph P. Williams was posted on the U.S. News and World Report website January 12, 2018:

President Trump’s campaign to move the courts to the right is in full force, despite Democratic objections.

Howard Nielson Jr. is a former Justice Department lawyer in the Bush administration who helped lead an infamous purge of left-leaning job candidates at the Justice Department – a power move considered so heinous that an inspector general’s report recommended those involved should never work in government again.

Thomas Farr spent much of his early career as a campaign attorney for the late Sen. Jesse Helms, the legendary North Carolina Republican and villain to a generation of civil rights advocates. While he was largely behind the scenes, the activists say, Farr was one of the architects of Helms’ plots to suppress black turnout, allowing the senator and former segregationist DIxiecrat to maintain an iron grip on power for more than three decades. Continue reading “Speeding to the Right”