On Monday, The Washington Post published a puff piece on Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, lauding him for potentially presiding over the confirmation of the first Black female Supreme Court Justice. But as RNLA Executive Director Michael Thielen points out, Durbin has a long history of "abuse and bigotry" against judicial nominees during his time on the Committee, the most recent example being how he grilled Justice Amy Coney Barrett about her Catholic beliefs.

And contrary to WaPo’s claim he “cement[ed] his status as a player” for “racial advancement,” @dickdurbin’s history on the Judiciary Committee is rife with anti-Catholic & anti-Hispanic attacks. He asked Justice Barrett if she was an “orthodox Catholic”3/5 https://t.co/sVjOuwiFrT

— Michael Thielen (@MB_Thielen) February 22, 2022

Another poll has shown that Americans would prefer President Joe Biden pick the "most qualified" person to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court as opposed to strictly sticking with his pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Court:

[J]ust 36 percent of Americans say Biden’s pledge was a "good idea," while the rest say it was either “a bad idea” (32 percent) or “neither good nor bad” (32 percent). And just a third of Americans say they have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence that Biden will select "the right kind of person" to replace Breyer on the court (33 percent), or that they themselves expect to support the nominee Biden puts forward (34 percent) — noticeably lower than the 39 percent who said they expected to support "President Trump's Supreme Court nominee" in September 2020, just before he nominated Amy Coney Barrett.

Tensions are ramping up in Eastern Europe. On Thursday, Russia announced that it has begun military exercises which many see as a potential precursor to a Russian invasion of Ukraine:

The military drills, called "Allied Resolve-2022," began in Belarus and will end February 20, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced Thursday in a statement. . .

On Thursday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer officially announced his retirement at the White House. At the announcement, President Joe Biden reaffirmed his campaign promise to nominate a Black woman to the Court:

“I’ve made no decision except one: The person I will nominate will be somebody of extraordinary qualifications, character and integrity,” he said. “And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It is long overdue.”

During a live-streamed interview on Tuesday, Democrat House Leader Steny Hoyer echoed President Joe Biden's position that the 2022 midterm elections could be "illegitimate" if Democrats fail to pass their radical elections bills. Politico reported:

Hoyer said the Democrats' push to pass voting rights legislation is “very much alive,” but he referenced the same strategy that failed Democrats last week. “We either need to change the rules, or get 60 votes [in the Senate],” he said.

President Joe Biden's rhetoric on elections went too far this week.

Biden has continued to wrongly compare Republican-backed state election reforms to the Jim Crow era South, which is ludicrous. But in a speech this week designed to pressure Senators into abolishing the legislative filibuster so that Biden's radical federal takeover of elections could pass, Biden did the unforgivable and compared elected officials who disagree with him to the likes of Bull Connor, George Wallace, and Jefferson Davis. That's right, Biden compared Members of Congress like Tim Scott, Burgess Owens, and Byron Donalds to radical segregationists and the president of the confederacy. 

I really don’t think people fully understand yet how much Tuesday’s speech permanently damaged the Biden Presidency. There is no pivoting back after that demagogic display.https://t.co/YeSeaVcJNq pic.twitter.com/nNRf061uUD

— AG (@AGHamilton29) January 14, 2022

The problems continue with President Joe Biden's judicial nominees. Of particular concern is Nancy Abudu, who Biden recently nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Concerns with her nomination should come as no surprise considering Abudu currently works as the Southern Poverty Law Center's Strategic Litigation Director. Some of Abudu's most outlandish remarks concern her opinions on election integrity measures.

Republicans and Democrats spent Tuesday presenting dueling visions for America's elections. Republicans want to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat, while the Democrats, led by President Biden, are willing to do whatever it takes—including changing the Senate filibuster—to achieve a partisan takeover of our elections.

Democrats will do whatever they have to do to get their way—including changing the rules—to fundamentally change U.S. elections.

— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) January 11, 2022

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for two challenges to the Biden Administration's vaccine mandates. Fox News reported:

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Friday in a high-stakes public session to decide whether the U.S. government can begin enforcing sweeping COVID-19 vaccine requirements affecting nearly 100 million workers.

By a 49 to 50 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Jennifer Sung to the 9th Circuit on Wednesday. Her nomination drew criticism from Republicans for a letter she signed on to calling U.S. Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh an "intellectually and morally bankrupt ideologue" during his confirmation process.