Page 11 - James Arkin News Today

Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday that would overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court nomination timeline, establishing that presidents nominate a new justice every two years and creating an 18-year active term limit for justices.

Bradley N. Garcia, an assistant attorney general nominated to the D.C. Circuit, defended his record and broad litigation experience before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday as he faced tough questions from Republicans about his age and his qualifications for the job.

The select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will contemplate a subpoena for Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, if she does not meet with the committee voluntarily, the panel's vice chair said Sunday.

Former President Donald Trump's advisers, including then-White House counsel Pat Cipollone, pushed for an immediate response condemning rioters at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. But Trump waited hours to issue a video calling on his supporters to leave, according to new testimony from the select committee investigating the attack.

Senate Democrats have confirmed more than six dozen of President Joe Biden's judicial picks, a rapid pace given the challenges of a 50-50 Senate and the dearth of vacancies when he first took office. But they're facing increasing pressure to speed up their pace even more, as nominees and unfilled vacancies stack up with midterm elections looming and their slim majority on the line.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is opposing Perkins Coie attorney Sopen Shah's nomination to be U.S. attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, accusing her of partisan tweets that he says would undermine her ability to do the job.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., blamed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, his fellow Kentuckian, after the White House scrapped plans to nominate conservative, anti-abortion attorney Chad Meredith to a judicial vacancy in the Eastern District of Kentucky last week, saying Monday that McConnell didn't consult with him on the potential nomination.

The Senate confirmed President Joe Biden's first district court nominee from a state with two Republican senators Thursday and voted 58-33 on a procedural motion setting up a confirmation vote for U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs to the D.C. Circuit, a significant show of bipartisan support for two of Biden's judicial picks.

Former President Donald Trump ignored advisers' admonitions that his paths to challenge the election were closed, according to new testimony Tuesday from the House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Instead, he egged on supporters to attend the Jan. 6 rally, promising in a tweet it would be "wild!"

An Arizona attorney nominated to the Ninth Circuit defended her record working on contentious election cases and pledged to keep her personal and political views separate from her rulings on the bench during a Senate committee hearing Wednesday.