Congress is back from its August recess, and Biden's judicial nominees up for confirmation by the Senate are as bad as ever. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee met to consider several nominees. Of particular concern to Committee Republicans were Richard Federico, nominated to the Tenth Circuit, and Eumi Lee, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley grilled Federico on a case where he advocated for a sentence as defense counsel well below the recommended guidlines for a case involving child sexual abuse material. The Daily Wire reported:

Hawley began by laying out the details of the case he was referring to, noting that the sentencing guidelines recommended up to 240 months — or 20 years — in prison. The recommended range, he said, was from 210 months to 240 — but Federico had asked for just 105 months. . .

Earlier this week, RNLA highlighted Senate Democrats' scheme to "temporarily" replace Senator Dianne Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee.

Republicans must come together and vote against the Democrats' scheme to "temporarily" replace Senator Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee. The future of the federal judiciary is at stake. https://t.co/nSv2nFmLqu

— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) April 17, 2023

One of the practical consequences if this scheme succeeds is that Democrats will once again have the ability to ram radical and/or disqualified judicial nominees through the Committee. Below are some of the most radical and disqualified nominees currently pending before the Senate.

Democrat Congressman Ro Khanna made waves last week when he publicly said what most Democrats (and everyone else for that matter) have been thinking for a long time: Senator Dianne Feinstein is no longer fit to serve in the U.S. Senate.

It’s time for @SenFeinstein to resign. We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty. While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties. Not speaking out undermines our credibility as elected representatives of the people.

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) April 12, 2023

Senator Feinstein's failure to resign has consequences, deadlocking controversial judicial nominations in the Senate Judiciary Committee on which she serves. Without Feinstein's vote, nominees can only proceed with bipartisan support—effectively blocking the Biden Administration's most extreme and unqualified nominees.  

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a confirmation hearing for Michael Delaney, who the Biden Administration has nominated to fill a vacancy on the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Very quickly, it became apparent that Delaney's nomination would be controversial, as he appeared by himself rather than on a panel with other nominees as is the usual practice for non-Supreme Court nominees. As Carrie Severino explained for National Review, Delaney's role in the public naming of an underage sexual assault victim while representing her school in a civil suit is embarrassing for Democrats:

This morning, Senate Judiciary Democrats rubber stamped a number of President Joe Biden's judicial nominees, including Nancy Abudu, whose nomination to the Eleventh Circuit RNLA formally opposes. Of particular importance to RNLA, Abudu has a history of extremist views on election law issues:

Comparing the opposition to enfranchisement of convicted murders, rapists, and child molesters to supporting slavery is offensive to all but the most partisan activists. 

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on whether to move the nominations of a long list of Biden judicial appointees to the Senate floor. Among them are some of the most radical nominees brought during the Biden Administration. The nominees highlighted below were renominated by the Administration after they were unable to secure their confirmation prior to the end of the 117th Congress.

In Thursday's hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on multiple Biden nominees for the federal judiciary. Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) commented on three nominees in particular, stating, "with their activist records, I don’t believe these nominees will respect the rule of law and follow the law as written, so I’m going to oppose them."

These three nominees were Nancy G. Abudu for the Eleventh Circuit; Nusurat Jahan Choudhury for the Eastern District of New York; and Natasha C. Merle for the Eastern District of New York. 

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered five of President Biden's judicial nominations. Most notable was the consideration of nominee Nancy Abudu to the Eleventh Circuit. RNLA is formally opposing the nomination of Ms. Abudu because:

[H]er views are extreme and fall outside of the mainstream. RNLA has only formally opposed one other judicial nominee made by the Biden Administration. We oppose Ms. Abudu because her views and rhetoric go beyond that of even progressive activists, and we see no reason to believe that she will be an impartial judge on the “hot button” issue of election law. 

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its first meeting to consider judicial nominees since the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Included on the agenda is the nomination of Nancy Abudu to the Eleventh Circuit, who RNLA has previously highlighted as a nominee outside of the mainstream.

Senator Orrin Hatch passed away Saturday.  He was a true leader and a great friend to the Republican National Lawyers Association. He spoke to RNLA more than any other elected politician and was very close to one of our founders, Betty Southard Murphy. As the left tries to lionize him for being some bipartisan figure from a bygone age, we should remember what a strong Republican Senator Hatch always was. As his former staffer, Tom Jipping, stated: Senator Hatch was “a real compassionate conservative.”  

But that compassion should not be mistaken for weakness. The Wall Street Journal had it right when it editorialized:  

The press is eulogizing former Senator Orrin Hatch for his civility and bipartisan deal-making with Democrat Ted Kennedy. He certainly was a gracious man who represented a more civil era in politics. But we’ll remember the longest-serving Republican Senator, who died Saturday at age 88, for the moments he bucked Beltway convention and took unfair abuse for it.

The first was his stalwart defense of Clarence Thomas against the accusations by Anita Hill in 1991. Ms. Hill’s claims have achieved totemic status on the political left. But they arrived only at the last minute, midwifed by Democratic operatives, and lacked substantiation. On the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch subjected the claims to proper scrutiny. He helped confirm Justice Thomas, who has been a credit to the High Court and country.