The nominees will be added to a growing list awaiting Senate hearings and votes.
8/29/2018 11:30
President Donald Trump announced several judicial nominees this week including attorney Allison Jones Rushing, a partner with the Washington, D.C. law firm involved with U.S. Supreme Court cases that narrowed the scope of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Courthouse News Service reports. The cases, likely familiar to ACA members, were on behalf of Midland Funding and Santander Consumer USA.
Rushing, employed by Williams & Connolly LLP, has been nominated to serve as a United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit, according to a White House news release.
The North Carolina native clerked for then-Judge Neil Gorsuch when he was serving on the 10th Circuit and signed onto a letter with 10 other female former Gorsuch law clerks supporting his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Rushing also clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court, according to the Courthouse News Service report.
Other judicial nominations sent from The White House to the Senate Aug. 27 include:
- David L. Anderson, of California, to serve as United States Attorney for the Northern District of California for the term of four years; vice Melinda L. Haag, term expired.
- Bridget S. Bade, of Arizona, to serve as United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit; vice Barry G. Silverman, retired.
- Marshall Billingslea, of Virginia, to serve as an Under Secretary of State (Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights); vice Sarah Sewall, resigned.
- Lawrence Keefe, of Florida, to serve as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida for the term of four years; vice Pamela Cothran Marsh, resigned.
- Drew H. Wrigley, of North Dakota, to serve as United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota for the term of four years; vice Timothy Q. Purdon, term expired.
In other news, the U.S. Senate has dozens of other nominations from Trump to consider and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced this week the Senate will remain in session leading into the Labor Day holiday to vote on 12 of the judicial nominees and other appointments from The White House, The Daily Signal reports.
“There is a vacancy crisis at the district court level,” Thomas Jipping, deputy director of the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal. “Historically, this tactic has only been used for the most controversial nominees. Now, it’s only being used to delay and gum up the works,” Jipping, known as an expert in the federal judiciary and appointment of federal judges, said.
In all, there are 80 pending district and specialty court nominees awaiting hearings with the Senate Judiciary Committee with 26 due for a vote on the Senate floor, according to the article.
Among regulatory nominees, Kathy Kraninger, Trump’s candidate for acting director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, is awaiting a vote in the U.S. Senate as well. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs approved the nomination 13-12 Aug. 23, ACA International previously reported.