Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee voted six judicial nominees out of committee along party lines. Two of the nominees, Andrew Oldham for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and Wendy Vitter for the Eastern District of Louisiana, faced controversy in part because of their views on Brown v. Board of Education. Vitter, currently general counsel of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, has also raised concerns over statements about birth control and abortion. Oldham faced questions from committee Democrats about his positions on immigration and abortion as well as a 2016 speech in which he called the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency “fundamentally illegitimate” and “enraging.”
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights vowed to continue opposing some nominees, saying “Wendy Vitter, Andrew Oldham and Michael Truncale all have records that reflect a hostility to civil and human rights. They’re not capable of serving as fair-minded jurists.” Sen. Mitch McConnell said earlier this month that he hopes to confirm every judge out of committee by the end of the year. Senate Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley said the committee plans to “process” at least five district court nominees, and one circuit court pick “every other Wednesday between now and Christmas.”