In the nearly two weeks following the Louisville Courier Journal’s big scoop that President Joe Biden made a very bad deal with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on a forced birther judge nomination, the White House has been mum on its intent. The only comment coming from the administration is Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre telling reporters that they won’t comment on vacancies. The lack of denial from the White House—as well as the receipts in the form of emails about it released by Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear—confirms the story, though the precise details of Biden’s deal aren’t known.
Not only has the White House not denied the deal, it hasn’t announced that it’s calling it off. In fact, HuffPost is reporting, Biden intends to move forward with it. A “source recently briefed on the White House’s plans,” told reporter Jennifer Bendery that the Biden is not backing away. There’s little reason to doubt that, even though the source is anonymous, given what we’ve seen—and not seen—from the administration.
“They’re defending it,” HuffPost’s source, who said they were briefed last week on the White House’s plan, told Bendery. On what basis they are defending it, well, lord knows.
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Let’s start with the fact that this is a nominee, Chad Meredith, who Donald Trump rejected because of his close association with the corruption of former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin. Those scandals included a bunch of pardons for actual convicted criminals, including a murderer whose family had donated some tidy sums to Bevin’s campaign.
Then there’s the folly of making any kind of deal with McConnell. Whether it’s for McConnell’s promise to allow other lifetime judicial nominees, or for two U.S. attorneys who would serve for just four years, it’s McConnell. Even if he intended to fulfill his part of the deal personally (and that has to be in doubt, because Mitch McConnell) he can’t stop Rand Paul or Ted Cruz or Josh Hawley or Rick Scott or Tom Cotton (or any of the other 50 Republicans) from obstructing nominees.
The other part of this that is astoundingly bad on Biden’s part is that he’s blindsided Senate Democrats with it. The last thing the administration needs now is a fight with Democratic lawmakers. Over abortion and the judiciary, of all things. But a fight is precisely what he’ll get, and it could mean a very embarrassing loss for him.
“All I’m going to tell you is I’m going to vote no,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) Monday. “It’s his call, but if he asked me for my advice I would say I don’t know how many Democrats are planning on voting yes.”
Even Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), no flaming liberal, is advising against the potential nomination. “I do not think this is the kind of person that a Democratic majority should put on the bench based on what I’m reading [about him],” he told HuffPost. He added that he “would have some concerns” over the nomination. Concerns like how embarrassing this could be for Biden, maybe?
There’s probably also some anger among Democrats, because every indication is that Biden was going to blindside them with it, trying to conceal with nomination in a larger group of nominees. In the email notification of the nomination that Beshear received, Bendery points out, White House officials “appear to have simply cut and pasted White House language about Meredith into the email―including the number eight right before Meredith’s name, as if he is one in a list of nominees being lumped together.”
Everything about this situation is absurd and embarrassing. Making a deal with McConnell. Thinking McConnell would honor a deal. Preparing to announce the nomination of an anti-abortion candidate to a lifetime appointment on June 24. The last week of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term. The week that they knew the court was going to overturn federal abortion rights. Dropping this mess on Senate Democrats’ laps with no warning. Embarrassing them, and setting up a potential intramural fight.
While the White House is apparently still thinking they can make this nomination, Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin is suggesting he won’t hold a hearing for him. “Imagine how controversial it would be within the Democratic caucus,” Durbin said to Politico.
He added that’s he’d spoken to White House staff about it, asking “what’s in it” for Democrats. “They didn’t have a specific answer,” he said. If Biden does go through with it, Durbin is not promising a hearing. “We’ll wait and see if we receive it and then we’ll decide.”
The administration announced five new nominees to federal judgeships Tuesday. Meredith wasn’t on this one, so at least it hasn’t happened yet.
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