The American Bar Association (ABA) has upgraded Judge Justin Walker, one of President Donald Trump’s court nominees, to “Well Qualified” after it had rated him “Not Qualified” last year for his current position on a Kentucky district court, The Hill reported.
William Hubbard, who chairs the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, wrote in a letter to Sens.Lindsey Graham and Dianne Feinstein, who head the Senate Judiciary Committee, that Walker is “Well Qualified” to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, explaining that his inferior rating for his nomination to the U.S. District Court in Western Kentucky last year was due to his “then-narrower litigation experience.”
Walker, an ally of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and his backers contend that last year’s ABA ruling was due to a liberal bias.
The DC appeals court is considered particularly important, because it has jurisdiction over federal agencies and often hears some of the most important issues of the day, making it for many a training ground for future Supreme Court justices, according to CNN.
The Senate Judiciary Committee started listening to testimony Wednesday morning as part of the 37-year-old Walker’s confirmation hearing.
During opening statements, Democrats on the panel criticized McConnell for concentrating on the nomination during the coronavirus crisis, with Sen. Dick Durbin reciting a lengthy list of more worthwhile items he said the committee should be addressing instead to deal with the pandemic.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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