McConnell protégé Justin Walker, known for his opposition to the Affordable Care Act, is advancing to final confirmation vote for a seat on the second highest federal court
Today, the Senate voted to advance the nomination of Mitch McConnell protégé Justin Walker to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit court. Walker is an outspoken opponent of the Affordable Care Act and his nomination has been engulfed in scandal since the DC Circuit Chief Justice called for an investigation into potential ethical violations perpetrated by Mitch McConnell in order to create this vacancy.
Collins has been a key player in Mitch McConnell’s strategy to pack our courts with right wing judges like Justin Walker. In fact, she’s already voted to confirm this exact nominee. When Walker was nominated for his current judgeship last year, Collins voted to confirm him even after the American Bar Association rated him “Not Qualified.”
Senator Collins has voted to confirm 96% of Trump’s judicial nominees, including dozens of judges who are hostile to LGBTQ+ equality and reproductive rights. She’s been working to push the DC Circuit to the right for years. In 2013 she cosponsored a Republican proposal to eliminate three seats from the court in order to prevent President Obama from filling vacancies, a transparently partisan power grab that earned “Two Pinocchios” from the Washington Post and criticism from The Kennebec Journal Editorial Board.
“At a time when Washington Republicans are trying to dismantle health care protections via the courts, Senator Collins has continued to vote to confirm Trump’s dangerous nominees,” said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra. “Her consistent support for Trump’s extreme right wing judicial nominees has put health care for tens of thousands of Mainers in jeopardy.”
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