The Senate Judiciary Committee has canceled hearings on a list of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees after outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) pledged to vote against any Republican judicial nominee so long as the GOP refuses to pass a bill protecting Special Counsel Robert Mueller from any detrimental White House actions.
“The panel was scheduled to advance six Circuit Court nominees, 15 District Court nominees and several bipartisan bills on Thursday to prepare them for possible floor action over the next month,” Politico reported, noting that the nominees are all to key seats, and all could be easily pushed through both committee and the full Senate with full Republican support.
But Flake says he will not vote “yes” on a single nominee unless a “bipartisan” bill, which requires Mueller be fired by a senior administration official rather than by presidential tweet and would give Mueller an “expedited review” of his filing if he requested it, is brought to the floor.
On Wednesday, Flake and a Democratic colleague, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), tried to convince Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to bring the matter to the floor. When McConnell refused, Flake voted “no” on judge Thomas Farr’s nomination to the Federal district court. – READ MORE