WASHINGTON, D.C., April 3, 2019 – Following today’s rules change in the GOP-led Senate, slashing the amount of post-cloture debate time on district court nominees to just two hours, AFJ President Nan Aron released the following statement:
“This rules change is a power grab with just one purpose: to get more unqualified, unfit judicial nominees through the confirmation process as fast as possible before the public realizes just how bad they are. Republicans want to curtail the scrutiny of these nominees even though we know that more than once, disqualifying information has come to light late in the confirmation process. They now hope that this rules change means some of the worst nominees waiting for confirmation, like Wendy Vitter, Matthew Kacsmaryk and Howard Nielson, can be rushed through without debate and without transparency. But they’re going to be disappointed, because we are confident that in the end they cannot hide from the American people their support for judges who will turn back the clock on our rights. And this rules change may well outlast Republicans’ control of the Senate — so it’s very possible they’ll live to regret it.”