Both Pima County judges recently nominated by President Donald Trump to the U.S. District Court bench in Tucson received their confirmation hearings today, and both were questioned more closely by Republican Senators than their Democratic colleagues.
Judges Scott Rash and John Hinderaker were introduced to the committee by Arizona Senators Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema, respectively. Each judge later took three minutes to introduce family and friends, and to thank colleagues. (Judge Rash getting choked up with emotion.)
But, the fun did not begin until Senators had their opportunities to question the nominees. Freshman Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) opened by grilling Judge Hinderaker about his views on the Second Amendment; the back and forth went on for a couple of minutes before the nominee noted that his experience as a litigator was in the civil arena and that he has not litigated (or, judicially handled) any Second Amendment cases. (The exchange begins at 2:05:07 in the video.)
Both judges received softball questions from Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) – Judge Rash devoted much time and effort as an attorney to helping the homeless population in Tucson