Senate Democrats blast GOP for federal court stacking scheme

The Washington Times reports, Senate Democrats blast Trump’s judicial confirmations, cite lack of vetting and diversity:

The ten Democrats on the SenateJudiciary Committee released a 60 page report Thursday blasting Republicans for their rush to confirm “right-wing ideological nominees” with little vetting.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the committee’s ranking member, said President Trump has had more circuit court nominees confirmed in his first 328 days in office than any other president since the circuit court system was created in 1891.

Mr. Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, have vocalized their commitment to filling the federal bench, which had an unprecedented amount of vacancies when Mr. Trump took office.

The reason for this is the Septuagenarian Ninja Turtle, Mitch McConnell, engaging in the unprecedented and unconstitutional “blockade” of President Obama’s judicial nominees, including his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland. Republicans falsely claimed this was the “Biden Rule,” In Context: The ‘Biden Rule’ on Supreme Court nominations in an election year. It was in actuality an unconstitutional abuse of power by Sen. Mitch McConnell.

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Congress attempts a discharge petition for DACA and the DREAMers

There is a move afoot in Congress by a handful of Republicans worried about losing in November to use a discharge petition to force a vote on DACA and the DREAMers that GOP Congressional leadership pushed aside during the continuing resolution (CR) budget battles earlier this year. House Republicans, Defying Leaders, Move to Force Immigration Votes:

More than a dozen House Republicans defied Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Wednesday and moved to force a vote on immigration in the House, aiming to settle the uncertain futures of so-called Dreamers, young immigrants who were brought to this country illegally as children.

The group is gathering signatures for a so-called discharge petition, a parliamentary maneuver that could be used to circumvent Mr. Ryan by bringing legislation to the House floor with the support of a majority of members. The party out of power often uses such petitions, but they rarely succeed because a signature from a member of the party in power is seen as a betrayal of leadership.

This time around, 17 Republicans had signed as of Wednesday afternoon.

“We are well aware that the speaker’s preference was not to have this process,” said Representative Carlos Curbelo, Republican of Florida, who introduced the petition Wednesday morning. “I’ve made the argument to the speaker personally that this process actually empowers him.”

If nine more Republicans sign on, along with all House Democrats, the group will be able to revive an immigration debate that had appeared all but dead. Its goal is to force debate on four immigration-related measures, including one of the speaker’s choosing.

Under a little-used rule known as Queen of the Hill, the measure that received the most votes would be adopted, and advance to the Senate, so long as a majority of the House voted in favor. Representative Jeff Denham, Republican of California and the architect of the strategy, said such a rule could be brought up on the first and third Monday of every month. The next opportunity to do so, he said, would be June 11.

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