Latest news with #TrumpNominees
New York Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Democrats Threaten Trump Prosecutor Picks, Pointing to Past Vance Blockade
During his brief tenure in the Senate, Vice President JD Vance blocked Biden administration nominees for U.S. attorney, in a break with past practice. Now, a senior Democrat is citing that as a precedent for insisting on the same standard for President Trump's federal prosecutor nominees, potentially jeopardizing their confirmation. 'There shouldn't be one set of rules for Republicans and another for the Democrats,' said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, who plans to adhere to what he is calling 'the Vance precedent' for Trump prosecutors unless Republicans offer some concessions. 'You expect me to just look the other way now?' he asked of Republicans at a Judiciary Committee hearing this week. U.S. attorney nominees traditionally sped through the Senate on an expedited basis once they cleared an F.B.I. background check and scrutiny by the Judiciary Committee. The panel does not conduct formal hearings on them, as it does on judges up for lifetime appointments. Mr. Durbin noted that Democrats had followed that practice in agreeing to confirm scores of prosecutors in Mr. Trump's first term. But beginning in June 2023, Mr. Vance, then a first-term Republican senator, said he would oppose moving ahead with all Justice Department nominees, excluding federal marshals, to protest what he contended was the politicization of the department and its pursuit of Mr. Trump in the courts. He said his goal was to 'grind this department to a halt.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Trump appellate court nominee defends experience at US Senate hearing
June 4 (Reuters) - A former clerk to three conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices who was chosen by President Donald Trump to become a federal appeals court judge faced questions from U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday about her youth and her support of the Republican president's order curtailing birthright citizenship. Whitney Hermandorfer, 37, tapped to serve on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, defended her record at the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's first hearing on judicial nominees since Trump returned to office in January. "The cases have come fast and furiously, and I've been privileged to handle a number of nationally significant matters," Hermandorfer, a lawyer serving under Tennessee's Republican attorney general, said. The hearing comes as judges in dozens of cases have slowed or blocked some of Trump's initiatives to dramatically expand presidential authority and slash the federal bureaucracy, prompting calls from Trump and his allies for judges to be impeached or accusing them of being part of a "judicial coup." Hermandorfer is the first of Trump's 11 judicial nominees so far to appear before the Republican panel, as the White House looks to further reshape a judiciary whose members have stymied key parts of his agenda. Four nominees to serve as trial court judges in Missouri appeared before the panel later on Wednesday. Trump shifted the ideological balance of the judiciary to the right in his first term with a near-record 234 appointments, including three members of the Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority. Hermandorfer clerked for Justices Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett, and clerked for Justice Brett Kavanaugh while he was a judge on a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. Today, she heads a strategic litigation unit in Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office, where she has defended the state's near-total abortion ban and challenged a rule adopted under former Democratic President Joe Biden barring discrimination against transgender students. Republican senators appeared likely to advance her nomination to the full Senate for its consideration, even as Democrats raised questions about the positions she'd taken in court and the 37-year-old's level of experience just a decade out of law school. "I am concerned about the striking brevity of your professional record," Democratic Senator Chris Coons said. He noted that the American Bar Association had long had a standard deeming judicial nominees qualified only if they had at least 12 years of experience. Several Democrats criticized the Trump administration for deciding last week to cut off the legal organization's decades-old ability to vet judicial nominees as part of its ratings process. Republicans welcomed the move, accusing the nonpartisan group of bias against conservatives. Hermandorfer said that while as an appellate lawyer she had never tried a case to a jury verdict, she had litigated over 100 appellate cases and argued four federal appeals. "That sounds like quite a bit of experience," Republican Senator Josh Hawley said. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the committee, questioned Hermandorfer on a recent brief she filed on behalf of the state of Tennessee to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the Trump administration's bid to let his executive order on birthright citizenship to take effect. Trump's order directed federal agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of U.S.-born children who do not have at least one parent who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident. The Supreme Court is weighing whether to narrow nationwide injunctions blocking enforcement of that order that were issued by three judges who concluded it clearly violated the citizenship clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment. Hermandorfer told Durbin that her office felt the justices should be provided information about evidence that she said showed that the 14th Amendment as originally interpreted after it was ratified in 1868 called into question whether the constitutionality of Trump's order was an "open and shut case." "I stand by completely those arguments and the historical sources that we advanced to the court," she said.
CNA
13-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Top US Senate Democrat to block Trump DOJ nominees over Qatar airplane
WASHINGTON: US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday (May 13) vowed to block all of President Donald Trump's nominees to the Justice Department until the agency reports what it knows about Qatar's offer to give Trump's administration a $400 million aeroplane. Trump said on Monday that it would be "stupid" for him to refuse Qatar's offer of the Boeing 747-8 aeroplane, which would be used as US "Air Force One," the jet American presidents use to fly around the globe. The aircraft eventually would be donated to Trump's presidential library. Schumer, referring to reports that US Attorney General Pam Bondi had signed off on the deal for the plane, called it "a blatantly inept decision." "The attorney general must testify before both the House and Senate to explain why gifting Donald Trump a private jet does not violate the emoluments clause (of the US Constitution), which requires congressional approval," he said in a speech to the Senate. The controversy over the plane is happening as President Trump visits Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, and then is due to fly to Qatar for a state visit on Wednesday. US Senator Schumer said he wants answers to whether the Qatari government will pay for modifications of the aircraft needed to protect the president, secure communications, and provide special configurations for what is in practice an airborne Oval Office workspace. If the US government had to bear those costs, Schumer said, "why are American taxpayers being asked to spend hundreds of millions of dollars or more on a plane that will only be used for a year or two?" The Defense Department is already in the process of procuring a replacement for the current, ageing Air Force One, with delivery by Boeing expected within a couple of years. A White House spokesperson on Monday said details of the gift were still being arranged. Outside ethics experts have listed a range of Trump activities that could point to the president using his office to enrich himself or his family. Schumer specifically mentioned a $TRUMP meme coin, plans for a new Trump hotel in Dubai and a new golf course in Qatar.
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Top US Senate Democrat to block Trump DOJ nominees over Qatar airplane
WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday vowed to block all of President Donald Trump's nominees to the Justice Department until the agency reports what it knows about Qatar's offer to give Trump's administration a $400 million airplane. Trump said on Monday that it would be "stupid" for him to refuse Qatar's offer of the Boeing 747-8 airplane, which would be used as U.S. "Air Force One," the jet American presidents use to fly around the globe. The aircraft eventually would be donated to Trump's presidential library. Schumer, referring to reports that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had signed off on the deal for the plane, called it "a blatantly inept decision." "The attorney general must testify before both the House and Senate to explain why gifting Donald Trump a private jet does not violate the emoluments clause (of the U.S. Constitution), which requires congressional approval," he said in a speech to the Senate. The Defense Department is already in the process of procuring a replacement for the current, aging Air Force One, with delivery by Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab expected within a couple years. Schumer said he wants answers to whether the Qatari government will pay for modifications of the aircraft needed to protect the president, secure communications and provide special configurations for what is in practice an airborne Oval Office workspace. If the U.S. government would have to bear those costs, Schumer said, "why are American taxpayers being asked to spend hundreds of millions of dollars or more on a plane that will only be used for year or two?" A White House spokesperson on Monday said details of the gift were still being arranged. Outside ethics experts have listed a range of Trump activities that could point to the president using his office to enrich himself or his family. Schumer specifically mentioned a $TRUMP meme coin, plans for a new Trump hotel in Dubai and a new golf course in Qatar. Currently, three Trump Justice Department nominees are before the Senate: an assistant attorney general for Maryland and two in Virginia.
CBS News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Schumer says he'll place holds on Trump's DOJ nominees over Qatari jet offer
Washington — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday that he intends to place holds on President Trump's political nominees to the Justice Department in response to a Qatari-offered jet for the president's use, while calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify before Congress. "In light of the deeply troubling news of a possible Qatari-funded Air Force One, and the reports that the attorney general personally signed off on this clearly unethical deal, I am announcing a hold on all DOJ political nominees until we get more answers," Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday morning. Mr. Trump is making his first international trip of his second term this week, where he arrived in Saudi Arabia Tuesday before visiting Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the coming days. Meanwhile, an unprecedented offer by the royal family of Qatar to donate a jumbo jet for Mr. Trump's exclusive use as a presidential plane has sent shockwaves through the political sphere back home. Schumer, a New York Democrat, called the possible gift "so corrupt" that Russian President Vladimir Putin "would give a double take," while calling it a "grave national security threat." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Democratic leadership following a policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC May 6, 2025. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images The minority leader outlined a number of requests of the Justice Department, calling on its Foreign Agent Registration Act unit to disclose all activities by Qatari foreign agents inside the U.S. that could benefit Mr. Trump or his family's organization, while urging that the American people "deserve to know the facts." Schumer asked who would install security measures on the jet, how the measures would be verified, what modifications would be needed to ensure its safety, along with who would pay for the installations and how much would they cost. He also asked what Qatar is being offered in return, while calling on the attorney general to testify before the House and Senate to explain why the gift does not violate any ethics law or the emoluments clause, which prohibits government officials from accepting compensation from a foreign state without the approval of Congress. "Until the attorney general explains her blatantly inept decision, and we get answers to these questions, I will place a hold on all political nominees to the Department of Justice," Schumer said. The practical impact of the holds remains unclear. The holds would be expected to slow the nominations by requiring Senate Republicans to take each procedural vote rather than moving forward with the nominees under an expedited timeframe. And Justice Department nominees aren't voted on en bloc like military promotions, further delaying the process. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the Qatari government had "graciously offered to donate a plane to the Department of Defense," while noting that the details were still being worked out. And the president defended accepting the gift of the plane Monday, saying "I could be a stupid person and say, oh no, we don't want a free plane." He added that it would "go directly" to his presidential library when he leaves office. But Democrats have vehemently denounced the offer, while a number of Republicans have called the ethics and national security implications of the potential gift into question. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who was asked whether Mr. Trump should reject the Qatari jet, told reporters Tuesday that he didn't know whether there had been an official offer yet. But he added that he thinks there are "lots of issues associated with that offer," which he said should be further discussed. contributed to this report.
