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News and Analysis
November 30, 2017 1:04 pm | By 28188Trump Judicial Nominee Kyle Duncan Signals an Ideological Agenda
At the November 29 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for judicial nominees David Stras (Eighth Circuit) and Kyle Duncan (Fifth Circuit), Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy ended his questioning by posing a hypothetical to both nominees about what they would do if…
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News and Analysis
November 22, 2017 2:39 pm | By 535616 Videos That Show Just How Unqualified and Extreme Judicial Nominee Brett Talley Is
Brett Talley was nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama in September. At the time, his three short years of limited experience as a practicing attorney who has never…
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News and Analysis
November 22, 2017 10:37 am | By 28187, 28185, 43665The Progressive Happy Hour: A Thanksgiving Spectacular
Even in the Trump era, there are things to be thankful for. In a November 22 Thanksgiving mini-episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” hosts Christin “Cici” Battle and Drew Courtney join podcast producer Layne Amerikaner to share what they are…
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News and Analysis
November 20, 2017 5:16 pm | By 28188Chuck Grassley’s Unprincipled Chairmanship
In 2015, Chuck Grassley became chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has the immense responsibility of carefully investigating the records of those nominated for lifetime positions as federal judges. Our judiciary exists to make sure that we are “a…
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News and Analysis
November 17, 2017 6:38 pm | By 28187, 28185, 28179The Progressive Happy Hour: Trump’s Attacks on Our Courts
In the Trump era, our nation’s courts have served as a powerful check on this administration’s extreme agenda, from blocking the Muslim ban to halting Trump’s ban on transgender troops. But Republicans are working hard to fill the federal bench…
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News and Analysis
November 17, 2017 5:39 pm | By 28188Chuck Grassley’s Sounds of Silence
On November 15, 2017, Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley wrote the following about the blue slip policy, to justify his ditching any meaningful version of it: Consultation with the White House is something we senators should value and encourage. But…
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News and Analysis
November 17, 2017 2:20 pm | By 28188Neil Gorsuch Channels His Inner Mr. Burns
Laughing at the weak and injured — especially when you tried to injure them even more — is classic behavior for a bully and a thug. Last night, Justice Neil Gorsuch showed that that’s exactly what he is. In a…
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News and Analysis
November 16, 2017 6:44 pm | By 28188Holes in Grassley’s Blue Slip Story
Chuck Grassley wrote this about blue slips in the Des Moines Register in 2015: For nearly a century, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has brought nominees up for committee consideration only after both home-state senators have signed and…
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News and AnalysisNovember 16, 2017 4:08 pm | By 28188
Why is Grassley Tying Blue Slips to the Filibuster Rules Change?
Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley has eliminated the longtime blue slip policy: Despite opposition from home state senator Al Franken, Grassley will hold a hearing for Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras. Grassley foreshadowed this a day earlier, in a…
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News and Analysis
November 10, 2017 10:12 am | By 28187, 28185, 28183The Progressive Happy Hour: Changing the Face of Politics
Democrats swept the elections this week, and a diverse group of young candidates won big. From Virginia’s Danica Roem, who will be the first openly transgender state legislator, to Melvin Carter, elected as the first African American mayor of St. Paul,…
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News and Analysis
November 8, 2017 11:54 am | By 28188As revelations continue, don’t put Trump’s lawyer on the D.C. Circuit
On November 9, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Greg Katsas’ nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Katsas has been loyally serving Donald Trump as his deputy White House Counsel since the…
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News and Analysis
November 3, 2017 1:00 pm | By 28188Republicans Are Playing the “Religion Card” with Judicial Nominees
Eighth Circuit nominee Steve Grasz—you know, the one who was deemed unqualified by a unanimous panel of the ABA—had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on November 1. It lasted about two hours, and we got to see him…
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News and Analysis
October 31, 2017 10:03 am | By 28188
ABA Calls Trump Circuit Court Nominee Grasz “Not Qualified”
On October 26, People For the American Way sent a letter expressing our opposition to the Grasz nomination to the Senate Judiciary Committee. You can download this letter here. On Monday, a unanimous panel of the American Bar Association, which…
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News and Analysis
October 30, 2017 3:00 pm | By 28194Roy Moore, Amy Coney Barrett and ‘Religious Tests’ For Office
The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday night on cloture on the nomination of Notre Dame law professor Amy Coney Barrett to a Circuit Court judgeship based in Chicago. Barrett became a cause célèbre for the Right when, at her…
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News and Analysis
October 30, 2017 2:34 pm | By 28188The Pot, the Kettle, and Mitch McConnell
The survival of our democracy depends on having independent courts with judges who protect everyone’s rights and who won’t let anyone trample on the Constitution. So it’s no surprise that Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell are moving at light speed…
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News and Analysis
October 30, 2017 11:37 am | By 28188United States v. Trump Campaign: Two Indictments and One Guilty Plea
Today’s federal indictment of Paul Manafort and Rick Gates (President Trump’s former campaign manager and his deputy) gives us an excellent behind-the-scenes look at the type of person that Donald Trump associates with. The charges brought by special counsel Robert…
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News and Analysis
October 27, 2017 9:04 am | By 28187, 28185, 44292The Progressive Happy Hour: Trump Is Allergic to Powerful Women
Donald Trump’s pattern of attempting to discredit and demean powerful women was on full display recently through his attacks on Representative Frederica Wilson as a “wacky” liar. In the October 27 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” hosts Christin “Cici”…
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News and Analysis
October 26, 2017 12:07 pm | By 41852Let’s Hold Our Applause for Jeff Flake and Bob Corker
We’re glad to see any Republican member of Congress speak out against Trump’s outrageous affronts to our constitutional values and the GOP’s complicity in those affronts. However, the public rebukes of Trump by Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob…
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News and Analysis
October 25, 2017 3:37 pm | By 51279Meet Bob Marshall: Extremist Who Says Disabled Children Are God’s Punishment, Gay People Should Be Jailed, And Schools Should Have More Guns
Virginia Republican Bob Marshall, a state delegate representing the state’s 13th district, is a figurehead in a conservative movement that seeks to prevent and roll back any and all expansion of rights for women and LGBTQ people. He was once…
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News and Analysis
October 18, 2017 2:48 pm | By 28188
Katsas Hearing Reinforces Why He Should Not be Confirmed
Greg Katsas, President Trump’s nominee for the powerful D.C. Circuit, had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. Unfortunately, the information he provided—and that which he failed to provide—demonstrate why senators should reject the nomination. As we noted in our…