WASHINGTON, D.C., January 24 – Following today’s confirmation hearing for Michael Brennan, President Trump’s nominee for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron released the following statement:
“Brennan’s hearing today was held despite the fact that Senator Baldwin has not returned her blue slip, marking the second time Chairman Grassley has held a hearing for a judicial nominee over the strong objections of a home-state senator. Sen. Baldwin has fought valiantly to defend the vetting processes put in place by the people of Wisconsin and her constitutional role in the nomination process. By continuing to disregard blue slips, Chairman Grassley is sacrificing senators’ constitutional duty to provide advice and consent by rubber-stamping Donald Trump’s dangerous nominees. We applaud the senators who stood up for blue slips in today’s hearings, and who pressed Brennan on important red flags in his record. For example, the fact that Brennan, a former trial court judge, refused to acknowledge the existence of racial bias in the criminal justice system is staggering, and his convoluted statements on precedent did nothing to assuage concerns that he will, as he wrote, ignore precedents he did not think were correctly decided. In our view, Michael Brennan’s nomination does not merit confirmation.”