Partisan Friction Clouds American Indian Judicial Nomination

The path forward for the White House nominee to be the first American-Indian judge on Montana’s federal trial court is “uncertain,” said the state’s Republican senator.

Sen. Steve Daines said he wasn’t contacted about filling the vacancy prior to the Biden administration’s April 24 announcement of Danna Jackson as the pick. Jackson’s the tribal attorney for the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes.

“We’ve heard about the nomination the same way you’ve heard about it. So, it’s unfortunate,” Daines told Bloomberg Government.

When asked about the future of the nomination, he said “I think it’s uncertain.”

But Montana’s Democratic senator, Jon ...