Posted on 05/15/2019 4:31:23 PM PDT by jazusamo
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed a controversial nominee to the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals over the objections of both home-state senators.
Senators voted 52-45 on Kenneth Lee's nomination to the influential appeals court, giving President Trump his 40th circuit judge since taking office.
Lee's confirmation came despite neither Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, nor Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a 2020 presidential contender, returning a blue slip on his nomination.
The blue-slip rule — a precedent upheld by Senate tradition — has historically allowed a home-state senator to stop a lower-court nominee by refusing to return the blue slip to the Judiciary Committee. How strictly the precedent is upheld is decided by the committee chairman, and enforcement has varied depending on who wields the gavel.
Lee is the fifth appeals judge this year to be confirmed without a blue slip returned from both home-state senators. Before 2019, no appeals judge had been confirmed without a blue slip returned from at least one home-state senator.
Feinstein said the vote on Lee marked the first time that the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee's blue slip has been ignored.
"Lee repeatedly failed to turn over more than 75 controversial writings and submitted many only after we identified them. Lee took controversial positions in these writings on race, civil rights and voting rights. His lack of candor with the committee should concern all senators," Feinstein wrote in a tweet.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) knocked Lee ahead of the vote, saying he is an example of a Trump nominee who wants to "turn the clock backwards." "His past writings reveal shocking positions on race and diversity, affirmative action, educational opportunity, women’s reproductive freedom. He once wrote that multiculturalism is a 'malodorous sickness' and that sexism ... to be 'irrelevant pouting.' That’s a man who should be on the bench?" Schumer asked.
Lee has come under fire for his college writings on issues such as sexual assault and AIDS.
In a 1994 law review article, he wrote that "a scientific explanation exists for the higher incidence of AIDS in the gay community. Homosexuals are more promiscuous than heterosexuals, and thus their risk factor increases exponentially."
During his confirmation hearing, Lee said he was "embarrassed" by the article.
In a 1995 article, he questioned why a women would keep working for a man who had assaulted her, writing that if "a lecherous professor grabs a student’s breast, the last thing she would do is continue to accompany him on another trip – let alone four more trips – just so she can hold on to a part-time job."
Lee apologized for his writings on sexual assault, saying during his confirmation hearing that at the time he didn't understand workplace dynamics.
Democrats faced long odds for defeating Lee's nomination. With a 53 seats, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) can lose as many as three GOP senators and still confirm a nominee by letting Vice President Pence break a tie.
McConnell views circuit court judges as his top priority and said in 2017 that he didn't believe opposition from a home-state senator should be enough to effectively veto an appeals court pick.
"In addition to a 'unanimously well qualified' rating from the ABA and a favorable report from the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Lee has earned the especially high esteem of one of our own colleagues. The junior Senator from Arkansas attended law school with the nominee," McConnell said of Lee, referring to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
Judicial nominations have become a focal point for controversy during the Trump presidency, with Republicans setting a record for how quickly they have confirmed appeals court judges.
In 2013, Democrats nixed the 60-vote filibuster for executive and lower-court nominations. Republicans got rid of the same roadblock for Supreme Court judges in 2017 to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch.
But Democrats have fumed over the decision to confirm circuit court judges over the objections of mostly Democratic home-state senators.
Democrats were able to defeat the nomination of Ryan Bounds to the 9th Circuit last year when Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) warned that he couldn't support the pick over his writings on race.
But Republicans held a narrower 51-seat majority at the time. Scott signaled earlier this year that he would support Lee's nomination.
Scott told McClatchy in March that he had "confidence" in Lee as an appeals court judge.
"I have not heard so far anything that would cause me to turn in an opposite direction," he said.
Yep.
When LS said, “Our own enema” I thought he was referring to one of our RINO senators meaning Republican. How did you know who he was referring to?
The Ninth Circuit covers, I believe, nine western states. Why should the senators of one state have veto power over such a judge? just because it is headquartered in San Francisco?
Enema is a nickname for Sinema. :^)
Maybe it’s possible to tell if he’s an excellent pick based on which FR posters like him, and which don’t.
Thanks, and I just realized I wrote Harris instead of Hirono.
My nicknames list on my profile page:
Sinema=Enema
I have not yet given McSally a nickname. Usually, I do not give nicks to our side unless they are real traitors like Minion Romney, or Ru Paul Ryan.
why can't we just tell the truth...??
of course "in the time of tyranny, telling the truth is revolutionary."
The 9th Circuit has been responsible for more damage to the fabric of this country than any other.
Good. Shove their pathetic blue slips down their throats until they choke on them.
Do you have a link to your profile page? I checked your FR profile and it’s not there.
That makes two this week.
Braaaaap Oblabme must be soiling himself...
I'm afraid you're right.
How sweet it is, I hope bammy does. :^)
And it’s a wonderful wonderful day.
“The reason AIDS exploded was because the Government refused to recognize it as being propagated (generally) by male homosexuals.”
Very early after identifying the disease, it was recognized that it was concentrated among homosexual men, IV drug users, and Haitians.
One of the hardest things for people diagnosed with it back then, was convincing their parents that they were Haitian.
I wonder why Nancy is not getting held to account for the lie she is telling.
This is at least the 4th time a circuit court judge has been confirmed without a blue slip not the first.
“The confirmation of Bianco marks the third time a circuit court judge has ever been confirmed without a blue slip, a sheet of paper that indicates if a home-state senator supports a nominee.”
I read that article...with respect to judicial appointments and “blue slips”, they should break out the fainting couches and distribute strings of pearls for them to clutch, IMO.
They can eat it.
When Harry Reid invoked the Nuclear Option in 2013, we saw the new path that was being followed by the Left. It was a no hostages, lay-back-and-enjoy-it and put-some-ice on it approach by the Left.
They did it against the pleas from the right that they shouldn’t do it, they would regret it because one day, they wouldn’t hold the reins of power.
That day is now. And we should make the pain for them, the regret, so powerful and intense for them they never pull their crap again. Of course, they will, so we should simply do these things as punitive measures, because when the shoe is on the other foot, we know how that shoe is going to be used.
That was one of the reasons the world ended up going to war against both Nazi Germany and Japan, and agreeing to unconditional surrender. We were lucky to see what Japan did to Nanking, and Germany did to Spain (Guernica) and The Netherlands (Rotterdam) fully demonstrated what would be done when Germany and Japan had their boots on the necks of the rest of the world. It was clear, and the rest of the world understood what to expect.
It is no different with the Left. Harry Reid and the rest demonstrated to all of us just what to expect. So we can take that as a wake up call.
Those despicable bastards that inhabit the Left put us on this path. It is up to US, for the good of this country, to make it hurt, and make them regret it.
Yes, this is no gentleman’s game.
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