Mitch McConnell Just Revealed His Latest Trick To Pack The Courts With Controversial Judges
The American public has been consumed this week by Robert Mueller’s investigation, which resulted in two indictments and one conviction, and the tragic terror attack in New York Tuesday that took the lives of 8 innocent victims, including 2 Americans.
For Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), this is the perfect time to ram-through votes for controversial judges to lifetime appointments. .
Sen. McConnell has scheduled not one, not two, but FOUR votes for conservative judges, all of whom Democrats oppose. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) never scheduled more than one vote on judicial nominees a week.
The Huffington Post interviewed Carl Tobias, a d law professor and an expert on judicial nominations from the University of Richmond, and he confirmed, “I never remember the Democrats ever doing anything comparable.”
Taken together, these judges have the potential to tip the balance of the federal bench for decades to come. More from the Huffington Post’s Jennifer Bendery:
All four nominees are young (in their late 40s and early 50s), conservative and up for a lifetime post on a U.S. circuit court ― one level below the Supreme Court. None got a single Democratic vote when they were reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Two were recommended to Trump directly by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, both right-wing think tanks.
Besides the obvious motivation to pack the courts with ideological zealots, Republicans in congress are desperate to get anything up on the scoreboard. With a big-ticket legislative victory like Obamacare repeal and tax reform so far eluding this congress and this president, and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation looming like a sword of Damocles, Senator McConnell is trying to repeat the glow Republicans enjoyed after confirming Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
Mechanically, it should be a layup. There’s almost nothing Democrats can do to stop the appointment from going through except delay with procedural maneuvers, and draw attention to McConnell’s underhanded tricks, which Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried to do today from the well of the Senate.
“Senator McConnell, once again, despite his desire to make the Senate work … is bending to the hard right of his party by jamming through these judges,” he said. “I intend to oppose these extremist nominees.”
Time is not on Sen. Schumer’s or the Democrats’ side.
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