Chad Meredith, Trump's Latest Judicial Pick, Was Almost Nominated By Biden
Washington:
President Donald Trump says he plans to tap Chad Meredith, a former state solicitor general in Kentucky, for a federal judgeship in the state - and this time, he is facing no objections from Sen. Rand Paul, who opposed his nomination three years ago.
Meredith was the starring player in a bit of judicial nominations drama in the previous administration, when then-President Joe Biden had agreed to nominate Meredith, who was enthusiastically supported by Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former Senate majority leader. It was a curious move at the time, because Meredith had a track record of defending Kentucky's anti-abortion laws and the nomination would come in the immediate aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court decision that eliminated a constitutional right to the procedure.
But Paul indicated to the Biden White House at the time that he would block Meredith's confirmation proceedings from moving forward, so the former president never formally nominated him. Biden's decision to back off Meredith was also a relief to Democrats and abortion rights groups who had been enraged at the prospect of Biden tapping an anti-abortion lawyer for a lifetime judiciary seat.
This time, Paul recommended Meredith for the judgeship to the White House, and plans to support his confirmation, Paul's office said Thursday.
In his social media post Wednesday announcing the nomination, Trump called Meredith "highly experienced and well qualified."
"Chad is a courageous Patriot who knows what is required to uphold the Rule of Law, and protect our Constitution," Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday night.
McConnell said in a statement Wednesday that Trump made an "outstanding choice" in choosing Meredith, who also served as chief deputy general counsel for former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.
"His demonstrated devotion to the rule of law and the Constitution will serve the people of Kentucky well on the federal bench," McConnell said. "I look forward to the Senate confirming his nomination."
Three years ago, Paul accused McConnell of cutting a "secret deal" with the White House as a reason why Meredith's nomination never moved forward under Biden. Paul never made any substantive objections about Meredith himself at the time.
"Unfortunately, instead of communicating and lining up support for him, Senator McConnell chose to cut a secret deal with the White House that fell apart," Paul said at the time.
Paul had effective veto power over a judicial pick in his home state because the Senate continues to honor the so-called blue slip rule, a decades-old custom that says a judicial nominee won't move forward if there is opposition from his or her home-state senator. The Biden White House also deferred to that custom, which is why Biden never ended up nominating Meredith.
Though the rule has been eroded in part, namely for appellate court judges whose seat spans several states, the custom has remained intact for district court nominees who are more closely tied to their home states. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has so far made no indication that he would deviate from that longstanding custom.
Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of a fair courts program and an adviser at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, criticized Trump's selection of Meredith given his "disturbing anti-abortion record."
"The nomination of Chad Meredith to a lifetime judgeship should trouble everyone," Zwarensteyn said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
32 minutes ago
- India Today
MAGA hates you: Trump fumes at Fox News, WSJ over approval ratings and Iran coverage
Friends can become enemies in a heartbeat. This happened to Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, a long-time supporter of US President Donald Trump, after it gave lower approval ratings to the US President. As for Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the US President disagreed with their coverage of took to Truth Social to discuss Fox's "long-standing bias" and "faulty election polls", and criticised the WSJ for its reporting on America's plan on Crooked FoxNews Polls got the Election WRONG, I won by much more than they said I would, and have been biased against me for years. They are always wrong and negative. It's why MAGA HATES FoxNews, even though their anchors are GREAT (sic)," Trump posted on Truth Social. Trump blasted the network over what he called a "fake border poll" and also accused it of using "discredited pollsters despite repeated inaccuracies". The poll, released on Wednesday, indicated that 46% of respondents approve of Trump's performance, while 54% expressed disapproval."This has gone on for years, but they never change the incompetent polling company that does their work. Now a new FoxNews poll comes out this morning giving me a little more than 50% at the Border, and yet the Border is miraculously perfect. NOBODY WAS ABLE TO COME LAST MONTH. 60,000 people came in with Sleepy Joe in the same month last year (sic)," he a follow-up post, he came down heavily on Murdoch's flagship newspaper, WSJ, after it reported on Wednesday that the US was planning to attack Iran, but was holding off in a last-ditch hope to persuading the Iranians to voluntarily abandon their nuclear ambitions."The Wall Street Journal has no idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran! (sic)" Trump wrote on in the Fox Poll, Donald Trump's lowest numbers were actually on the topic of inflation, with 64% disapproving of his handling of this key economic issue, and just 34% approving, according to The Daily his outburst was particularly over how he was being rated on the relationship with Fox News, traditionally supportive of him, and The Wall Street Journal, which has both applauded and criticised his policies, has been long and this year, Trump hosted Murdoch himself in the Oval Office, where he referred to the media mogul as "legendary" and "one of the most talented people in the world", while also musing that he would need to "talk to" Murdoch about the Journal's coverage of his administration, according to a New York-based news website, Media Lucas, professor of international politics at University College Dublin, said Trump's decision to bring the military into Los Angeles to deal with protests also harmed his rating due to the method Fox poll is going to get headlines in part because it's Fox, where you have a lot of Trump supporters, in part because the numbers are so stark, and in part because of Trump's angry reaction on social media," Newsweek quoted Lucas as noted that Trump's poll numbers (on Fox News) have been fluctuating, with a notable decline in April due to concerns over the economy, trade, inflation, and the negative impact of his tariff added that deploying the military in Los Angeles to handle protests also hurt Trump's approval, even among those who support his immigration policy but disagreed with the approach. 'He's slipping' on migration, Lucas said, according to InMust Watch
India Today
32 minutes ago
- India Today
Israel-Iran fray: How much military does Uncle Sam have in West Asia?
United States President Donald Trump's see-saw statements on Iran have now swung more towards military force in West Asia. A month ago, he claimed at a conference in Qatar that the US and Iran were in serious negotiations to resolve their nuclear dispute for long-term on June 17, he posted the words 'unconditional surrender' in all caps on his TruthSocial account. And now, he's dithering over whether the US will get involved directly in the Iran-Israel conflict. Nevertheless, US actions seem to be more decisive now as it's been moving some of its military might closer towards Iran since Israel's first attack on Iran on June US has deployed fighter aircraft, including the F-16, F-22, and F-35, as well as 30 refuelling aircraft, mainly KC-135R Stratotankers and KC-46A Pegasus tankers, in several locations across Europe and West Asia. It already has the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group warships stationed close to Oman. And now, the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is reportedly sailing from East Asia towards the West. Both can hold about 7,500 personnel and 75 aircraft, including fighter jets. The US military has a sizeable presence in West Asia, going back more than five decades. Currently, it has more than 40,000 troops deployed at 19 sites. Usually, there are about 30,000 troops in the region, though the number surged to 43,000 in October 2023 after the Hamas attack in Israel and the continuous attacks by Houthis on ships in the Red largest concentrations of US forces are located in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Here's a look at the most prominent ones:Al Udeid Air Base (Qatar): At 60 acres and with almost 10,000 troops, it is the largest US military installation in West Asia. It functions as the forward headquarters for US Central Command, also known as CENTCOM, and can house nearly 100 aircraftNaval Support Activity, Bahrain: Located in Manama, it is the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. It hosts approximately 9,000 personnelCamp Arifjan (Kuwait): Established in 1999, it hosts a sizeable proportion of the 13,500 American forces stationed in KuwaitAl Dhafra Air Base (United Arab Emirates): This strategic air base hosts 5,000 US military personnel and advanced aircraft, such as F-22 Raptor stealth fightersPrince Sultan Air Base (Saudi Arabia): More than 2,700 American forces are stationed here. Recent deployments to this facility have included F-16 fighter jets relocated from ItalyMuwaffaq Salti Air Base (Jordan): This base hosts approximately 3,000 American troops and is reported to have several MQ-9 Reaper drones, crucial for intelligence and strike missionsTrump, in his most recent statement today, said that he will allow two weeks for further negotiations before deciding on striking Iran. Americans are hoping that in the meantime, Iran will relent and agree to terms it had rejected earlier, including abandoning its enrichment of on Thursday also warned the US not to take military action against Iran. Moscow is one of Tehran's most important allies. "We would like to particularly warn Washington against military intervention in the situation," Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. Though Trump has reportedly rejected Russia's offer to broker the sidelines, foreign ministers from France and Germany, and the European Union's high representative, Kaja Kallas, are meeting Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva today to find a diplomatic solution for Tehran's nuclear InMust Watch
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Dhankhar slams Supreme Court over Emergency-era verdict, says darkest in judicial history
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday (June 20, 2025) slammed the Supreme Court for its verdict delivered during the Emergency, dubbing it as the "darkest" in the judicial history of the world. According to an official statement, he said the judgment of the Supreme Court overruling that of nine High Courts legitimised dictatorship and authoritarianism. Mr. Dhankhar also questioned the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed for signing the proclamation of Emergency on the "instance" of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and not the entire council of ministers. Addressing a group of Rajya Sabha interns, the Vice-President said, "A president cannot act on the advice of an individual, the prime minister. The Constitution is very categorical. "There is a council of ministers headed by the PM to aid and advise the president. This was one violation, but what was the result? More than 1,00,000 citizens of this country were put behind bars in hours," he said. Referring to the role of the judiciary during the Emergency, Mr. Dhankhar said, "That was a time when the fundamental essence of democracy capsized in times of distress. People look up to the judiciary. "Nine high courts in the country have gloriously defined that emergency or no emergency, people have fundamental rights and there is access to the justice system. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court overturned all nine high courts and gave a judgment which will be the darkest in the history of any judicial institution in the world that believes in the rule of law," he further said. Mr. Dhankhar pointed out that the decision was that "it is the will of the executive to have Emergency for as much time as it thinks fit". The top court also ruled that during an Emergency, there are no fundamental rights. "So the judgment of the Supreme Court legitimised dictatorship, authoritarianism and despotism in this land," he said. The Vice President said the present government has "wisely" decided to observe June 25 every year as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas'. Emergency remained in force between June 25, 1975 and March 21, 1977.
