The Senate confirmed two more of President Trump’s appeals court nominees Tuesday, bringing his total to 21 circuit judges placed on the bench in his 16 months in office.
President Obama only had nine circuit court judges approved at this point in his tenure.
Joel Carson III, a part-time magistrate judge in New Mexico, was confirmed to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by a 77 - 21 vote, and John Nalbandian, a Kentucky lawyer, was confirmed to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals by a 53 - 45 vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to consider another circuit court nominee and five district court nominees Thursday…Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said Mr. Trump and Senate Republicans are trying to stack the courts with extremists.
He said two of the picks being reviewed in committee demurred when asked if the Supreme Court correctly decided Brown v Board of Education, the case that ended segregation in schools.
He was referencing Andrew Oldham, a nominee to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Wendy Vitter, a nominee to the Eastern District of Louisiana. Both refused during their confirmation hearings to weigh in on whether Supreme Court precedent had been rightly decided, citing judicial ethics.
The committee will debate their nominations Thursday on the 64th anniversary of Brown v Board of Education, Mr. Schumer said....
“When we say that sometimes our colleagues and this president are divisive, it’s actions like this that document that, and make the fact that they are being divisive irrefutable,” he said.