Nominations Update: Clarke Confirmed, Judiciary Considers Slate of Nominees

Posted by 168sc on May 27, 2021

This week was a busy one for Biden Administration nominees. Kristen Clarke was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The Senate Judiciary Committee also held a hearing to consider six other nominees, including Tiffany P. Cunningham to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit and David H. Chipman to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

The Senate confirmation of Clarke was disappointing considering her controversial viewpoints on issues such as race, freedom of speech, and the "defund the police" movement.

As Republican Leader McConnell pointed out, Clarke did not receive bipartisan support in the Senate Judiciary Committee and, as a result, failed to even receive a favorable recommendation from the Committee.

At Wednesday's Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing, the most prominent judicial nominee considered was Tiffany P. Cunningham. Cunningham is Biden's nominee to the United States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit. Carrie Severino wrote for National Review:

From 2001 to 2002, she clerked for Judge Timothy B. Dyk on the Federal Circuit.

Following her clerkship, she practiced law at Kirkland and Ellis’ Chicago office, becoming a partner in 2007. In 2014, she joined Perkins Coie in Chicago, where she currently sits on the firm’s executive committee.

Cunningham’s practice over the years has included both trial and appellate work for a number of individual and corporate clients dealing with patent and trade secret issues. She has logged over 40 appearances in district court and eight before the Federal Circuit. A registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, her work has encompassed the fields of biotechnology, computer science, automotive and mechanical engineering, and chemical and pharmaceutical disciplines.

Cunningham donated to the campaigns of Barack Obama in 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 and has been active in several bar associations.

As Severino noted, Cunningham is on Perkins Coie's executive committee. This is the same firm that employs infamous election law attorney Marc Elias, who litigates on behalf of Democrats and leftist organizations to tear down important election integrity safeguards.

Also at Wednesday's hearing, the Committee considered the nomination of David H. Chipman to be ATF Director. Chipman has come under fire for his radical views on gun control, which many conservatives see as an affront to the Second Amendment.

Wednesday's confirmation hearing can be viewed in its entirety here.

DOJ politicizing DOJ judicial nominations Kristen Clarke 2nd Amendment

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