Senate Judiciary Argues About Blue Slips for Circuit Nominees

Partisan frictions erupted at a Senate Judiciary hearing over the Democratic White House’s negotiations with Republicans on appellate court nominees.

Kevin Ritz, who’s the US Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, received no support from the panel’s GOP minority Thursday after his Republican home-state senators alleged at Ritz’s April 17 confirmation hearing that the Biden administration didn’t properly consult them before his nomination.

Before the vote, Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee rehashed accusations of a “backroom deal” by the White House to sidestep the input of the state’s Republican senators. She said the two GOP lawmakers had shared recommendations for the Memphis-based judgeship.

Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), however, had countered those claims at Ritz’s confirmation hearing by stating that the White House went beyond what’s necessary for negotiations on circuit court nominees, after the panel’s Republican majority slashed mandatory home-state senator support for circuit court nominations during Donald Trump’s presidency.

Blackburn’s accusation nonetheless launched a sharp exchange between Republicans and Democrats on the panel Thursday. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina warned that Democrats could be on the receiving end of the treatment alleged by Blackburn if Republicans take back the White House and Senate.

“Remember this moment. You can still get angry, but remember this moment in time—when you cast this vote you’re guilty of the same behavior you’re gonna try to accuse some of these folks of being guilty of a year from now,” Tillis said, gesturing to his Republican colleagues on the panel.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said that he was “more than happy” to find a way to undo the decision to nix the blue slip requirement for circuit court nominees. “A lot of us got burned hard by that rules change,” he said.

Ethics Complaint

Blackburn also renewed Republican concerns related to Ritz’s handling of a criminal matter roughly 16 years ago while an assistant US attorney for the office he now leads. It was alleged in that case that he misrepresented charges in a plea agreement, Republican senators said.

Republican senators had questioned Ritz about whether he was aware of an ethics complaint against him related to the issue. Opposing counsel had claimed they were unable to properly advise and represent the defendant based on Ritz’s alleged misrepresentation of the nature of drug-related charges and the sentence that would result from accepting a plea agreement, Republicans said.

Ritz had said he didn’t know about the complaint Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) had said during his April 17 confirmation hearing was filed with the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, nor was he aware of any official finding in the matter. Ritz also said he didn’t behave unethically in the case and that the allegations were false.

Durbin had noted that the subjects of such complaints may not be informed of the issue if the Office of Professional Responsibility determines the complaint is meritless on its face, is outside the office’s jurisdiction, or isn’t supported by any evidence—therefore not warranting further investigation.

Also Thursday, the committee advanced Brian Murphy for the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts; Rebecca Pennell for the Eastern District of Washington; and Jeannette Vargas for the Southern District of New York. All were approved along party lines.