Biden Appellate Pick Confirmed Amid Home-State Senator Ire

A longtime federal prosecutor in Tennessee won confirmation to an appellate court seat despite objections from his home state’s Republican senators.

The Senate voted 48-46 on Monday to confirm Kevin Ritz, who’s the US Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who voted against the confirmation, was the only one to cross party lines. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), who had said he wouldn’t vote in favor of judicial nominees lacking bipartisan support, was absent from the vote after voting to invoke cloture on Ritz last week.

The veteran federal prosecutor has a more traditional resume that seemingly would appeal to Republican senators in the narrowly divided chamber controlled by Democrats.

He was a long-time assistant US attorney in the district, where he served as appellate chief, special counsel to the US attorney, and criminal appellate chief.

The Memphis Bar Association noted his appellate leadership role in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in April from its president, saying he was “particularly well prepared to serve on the Sixth Circuit.”

But Republicans, who’ve cast many of Joe Biden’s judicial nominees as radicals, felt otherwise. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell name-checked Ritz on a list of nominees Republicans consider unqualified during floor remarks on Monday.

At his confirmation hearing, conservatives prodded Ritz about allegations from defense counsel in a case almost two decades prior that he misrepresented charges in a plea agreement. Ritz said the claim was false.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) led the charge against Ritz. She based her opposition on his alleged ethical misconduct and what she called insufficient efforts by the White House to properly consult her and fellow Tennessee Republican Bill Hagerty on the nomination.

“Senator Hagerty and I attempted to work in good faith with the administration to identify highly qualified nominees to fill this vacancy, but unfortunately, the White House had other plans,” Blackburn said in March in characterizing the nomination as a “back room deal.” Democrats pushed back on that assertion.

Unlike district court nominees, circuit picks don’t need home-state senator support to advance.

Ritz becomes the first circuit nominee confirmed in more than two months. A handful of others await floor consideration as Democrats tackle a backlog of circuit and trial court nominees amid a narrow window to confirm judges and complete other legislative priorities by the end of year.