“There will not be a single court vacancy anywhere in the nation for the first time in at least 40 years,” McConnell said. “Our work with the administration to renew our federal courts is not a partisan or political victory. It is a victory for the rule of law and for the Constitution itself. ”
Democrats scoff at that statement and shudder at McConnell’s vote not to vacate.
They also argued that Wilson was inappropriate to serve, citing serious concerns about his voting rights record.
In a letter sent Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) along with Senate Judiciary Committee member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) And Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) .) Urged McConnell not to advance with his nomination They noted Wilson’s strong support for voter ID laws, which they said encourages voter suppression.
“Judge Wilson has been a fervent advocate of restrictive voting measures, including voter identification laws that disproportionately harm minority voters, and has shown a pattern of rejection of the legitimate concerns of voting rights groups.” they wrote.
They added that Wilson’s nomination is a “slap in the face of African Americans at a time when our country is working to advance racial justice, not backward.”
In a statement, Collins said Wilson’s comments on the Affordable Care Act as “perverse” and “illegitimate” raise “doubts about his ability to govern impartially in matters where he has very strong personal opinions.”
Wilson, who was nominated in May, is a judge on a state court in Mississippi and served in the Mississippi House of Representatives. He was previously nominated as a district judge for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Trump had previously chosen Halil Suleyman “Sul” Ozerden for the position in the Fifth Circuit. But Ozerden faced a Republican revolt over his commitment to religious freedom after he ruled that a lawsuit against the ACA’s contraceptive mandate was premature.
