Five Senate Democrats just voted to advance one of Trump’s judicial nominees
Had they all voted ‘no,’ the vote would have failed.
On Monday evening, senators voted to invoke cloture — or end debate — on the nomination of Clay Fowlkes to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Every Republican present for the vote supported advancing Fowlkes’ nomination.
And so did five Democrats.
Senators Durbin, Hassan, Kaine, Shaheen, and Whitehouse voted with all Republicans — and now Fowlkes will be confirmed tomorrow to a lifetime seat on the federal bench.
The vote was 49-40. If every Democrat had voted ‘no,’ the vote would have failed — forcing Leader Thune to bring it back up later.
In responses to written questions for the record, Fowlkes demonstrated his loyalty to the president.
When asked if Trump lost the 2020 election, he simply responded that “Congress certified President Biden as the winner of the 2020 election.”
When Senator Booker asked: “Do you believe that President Biden won the 2020 election? Note that this question is not asking who was certified as president in the 2020 election.” — he shamelessly responded that “Congress certified Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election, and he served as the 46th President of the United States.”
When asked if he denounces the January 6 insurrection, he stated that “The wording of this question and the answer it seeks from me would require me to issue a statement of an inherently political nature. This would be inappropriate for me to do, as a judicial nominee.”
When asked if he believes the attack on January 6 was an insurrection, he said that “My response to this question would require me to express an opinion on political matters or potential future cases.”
When asked whether he agreed with Mike Davis that Democrats are relentless and evil, he responded that he wasn’t familiar with the statement and that it would be “inappropriate” for him to “comment on the political statements of others.”
When asked whether federal judges are monsters for ruling against the administration, he stated that “The wording of this question and the answer it seeks from me would require me to issue a statement of an inherently political nature.”
When asked whether Trump can be elected for a third term, he simply quoted the 22nd Amendment rather than giving a yes or no answer.
Still, his nomination advanced today with bipartisan support. What are we doing here?
At this perilous time for the United States and our fragile democracy, voting against this president’s lifetime judicial nominees is the least that Senate Democrats and Independents can do in this moment. To date, 18 Senate Democrats and Independents have voted to confirm at least one of Trump’s judicial nominees during his second term.
They must stop.