Washington, D.C., January 19, 2018 – Following the announcement today that a confirmation hearing will be held January 24 for Michael Brennan, Donald Trump’s nominee for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron released the following statement:
“The announcement that Michael Brennan will get a confirmation hearing is a direct slap in the face to the state of Wisconsin and to one of its U.S. Senators, Tammy Baldwin. This hearing is for a nominee who failed to pass muster with Wisconsin’s Federal Nominating Commission, a venerable state institution of which Wisconsinites are rightly proud. It’s for a nominee for whom Sen. Baldwin chose not to return a blue slip, a prerogative of home-state senators that for decades has meant that nominee will not advance. In fact, this nomination process was so rigged for Brennan that the White House had already interviewed him before Wisconsin’s nominating commission even started talking to candidates. And Chairman Grassley’s decision to hold this hearing puts every senator on notice: this week the target is Sen. Baldwin, but next week it will be someone else, because this GOP-led Senate will not respect its members, its rules, its traditions or anything that gets in the way of ramrodding through the agenda of Donald Trump.”