KBJ Receives Tie Vote from Senate Judiciary Committee
Earlier today, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court received a tie vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. No Republicans voted in favor of the nomination.
Read moreNews -- In a party-line vote, Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocks 11-11 on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to SCOTUS.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 4, 2022
Next up: A vote tonight to discharge the nomination by full Senate. Simple majority is needed
Cloture vote: Thursday
Confirmation: Thursday or Friday
Liberals' Double Standard on Client Representation
Republicans have questions about Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's involvement in providing representation for terrorism suspects being held at the Guantánamo Bay military prison. As The Washington Free Beacon reported in February, Judge Jackson was involved in the litigation while working as a federal public defender and after she moved to private practice:
Jackson has portrayed her work for the detainees as that of a disinterested professional fulfilling an assignment. But a Washington Free Beacon review of court filings dating back to 2005 indicates that Jackson was deeply committed to equal treatment for accused terrorists. Her advocacy was zealous and often resembled ideological cause lawyering, even in her capacity as a public defender. At times, she flirted with unsubstantiated left-wing theories that were debunked by government investigators. On other occasions, she accused Justice Department lawyers of egregious misconduct with little evidence.
Read moreDick Durbin Has a History of "Abuse and Bigotry" on Judiciary Committee
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.
Read moreAnd 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
The Good and Bad News of Democrats' Partisan Electoral Count Act Proposal
On Tuesday, Senators Angus King, Amy Klobuchar, and Dick Durbin announced their proposal for reforming the Electoral Count Act (ECA), the Electoral Count Modernization Act. Before we begin on the actual bill, we must give the Democrats credit for actually making a proposal on the ECA. After massive "voting rights" bills that had little to do with making elections better or voting rights and more to do with their re-elections and a federal takeover of elections, the Democrats are actually focused on the subject of the bill's title this time. We are hopeful that this is sign the Democrats' dreams of partisan election "reform" outside the ECA are dead.
Read moreIt's Time for Judiciary Democrats to Condemn with Their Votes
The September 13th protest by liberals in front of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home was too much even for Senate Democrats.
Senate Judiciary Committee members from both parties denounced a protest targeting the Maryland home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, saying the families and homes of government officials are not fair game. . . .
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) similarly criticized protests targeting public figures’ homes.
“We all know that you have to have a tough mental hide to be in this business,” Durbin said. But “it is absolutely unacceptable from my point of view to involve and major public figure’s family or their home, or to involve yourself in criminal trespass in the name of political freedom of speech.”
“There are proper venues to express yourself and I don’t believe a person’s home or their family should be fair game in this business,” he added.
Read moreSenate Republicans Call on Judiciary Dems to Hold Hearing on Biden Border Crisis
Senate Judiciary Republicans led by Chuck Grassley are calling on Chairman Dick Durbin to call a hearing on President Joe Biden's worsening border crisis:
Durbin Ends Discussion on Controversial Nominee Despite Unsatisfactory Answers
Earlier today, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered the controversial nomination of Vanita Gupta to be associate attorney general. The vote on Gupta's nomination ended in a tie. As reported by CNN:
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday deadlocked in a party-line vote on the nomination of Vanita Gupta to be associate attorney general, but her confirmation is still on track with the expected support of moderate Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Whelan: "Dick Durbin's Distortions" of his New Role as Judiciary Chair
The Senate Judiciary Committee was in the spotlight today as Merrick Garland, President Biden's nominee for Attorney General, was advanced out of the committee. The next stop is a confirmation vote by the full Senate. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin opined on his new role. But as the Ethics and Public Policy Center's Ed Whelan points out, Durbin's interview distorts the reality that he inherited.
Read moreDick Durbin’s Distortions https://t.co/H0ShRcpp4K
— Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) March 1, 2021
Whelan: "Dick Durbin's Distortions" of his New Role as Judiciary Chair
The Senate Judiciary Committee was in the spotlight today as Merrick Garland, President Biden's nominee for Attorney General, was advanced out of the committee. The next stop is a confirmation vote by the full Senate. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin opined on his new role. But as the Ethics and Public Policy Center's Ed Whelan points out, Durbin's interview distorts the reality that he inherited.
Read moreDick Durbin’s Distortions https://t.co/H0ShRcpp4K
— Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) March 1, 2021
Schumer and Democrat Senators Threaten Judicial Independence
RNLA Betty Murphy Award Winner Mike Davis and the Article III Project released a letter signed by conservative leaders in response to Senate Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s threats on Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh last week:
In a better world, this episode would mark the end of Chuck Schumer’s political career. But even in America in 2020, it should be a permanent blot on Schumer’s record. We therefore strongly support a resolution to censure Schumer on the Senate floor.
Read more