The Senate Judiciary Committee approved 17 of President Trump’s judicial nominations Thursday, including two who received “not qualified” ratings from the American Bar Association and one who was opposed by the Congressional Black Caucus.
The committee approved the nominations of three U.S. circuit court judges — Elizabeth Branch to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Kyle Duncan to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and David Stras to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals — and 14 U.S. district court judges.
Eight of the nominations were voted out of the committee along party lines. One, Stan Baker for U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, was approved by voice vote.
Several of the nominations for district court judges were voted out of the committee last year, but were not voted on by the full Senate. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is one of the most talked-about potential Democratic candidates for the White House in 2020. But she has also turned into a thorn in the side of the Department of Justice as she holds up one of DOJ’s highest-profile postings.
The junior senator from New York plans to use her “blue-slip prerogative” to block the confirmation of Geoffrey S. Berman, if he is nominated by President Trump to be the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, Gillibrand spokesman Glen Caplin told Fox News.
Berman, 58, a former prosecutor in the office, has been appointed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions as the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. The posting has jurisdiction over all businesses in Manhattan, including those of Trump and his family.
Gillibrand doesn’t have an issue with Berman’s qualifications. Her objection lies with the man who nominated him and reports that Berman personally met with the president as part of the selection process.
“This is about President Trump,” Caplin said. “Senator Gillibrand believes U.S. attorneys work for the people they serve and must be independent from the White House.” – READ MORE
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