Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Suggested on Friday that President Biden, in a demonstration of bipartisanship, choose Trump-appointed district judges to sit on appellate courts when his government starts making judicial appointments.
Hawley’s comments were made during an interview with Fox News, shortly after his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday.
“I think it all depends on who he nominates. And if he nominates left-wing judges who are not going to adhere to the Constitution, they are going to impose their own views, then they sure are not going to have my support, and I hope other Republicans don’t “said Hawley.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) Speaks during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Capitol Hill on October 12, 2020. in Washington, DC Hawley talked about nominations lawsuits with Fox News on Friday at CPAC. (Susan Walsh – Pool / Getty Images)
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“But, you know, Republicans have to make a good case. That is part of being the opposition. We have to stand up and articulate why, in this case, judges who do not follow the Constitution are bad for the country,” he added.
Hawley said he did not think of any of the nominees in particular. But he said that if the president wants to show that he is truly committed to bipartisanship, Biden could elevate the first instance judges appointed by former President Donald Trump to appellate courts.
“I hope that if President Biden really wants to be bipartisan, he will appoint some Trump-appointed district court judges who have a strong track record,” said Hawley. “He should appoint them to the Court of Appeals. But I’m not holding my breath.”
With the Senate divided into 50-50 in this term, the commissions are also divided equally. But, according to the Senate’s organizational resolution, nominees can move to the Senate floor without a majority vote, which means that Democrats can approve nominees without the help of the Republican Party if they stay together. In the Senate floor, Vice President Harris can break the votes.
Hawley also addressed the potential battle over a Supreme Court seat that could open up under Biden.
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“I think it depends on when it happens. And I think it depends, again, on who receives and who indicates,” said Hawley. “My concern is what we have seen so far from President Biden is that he is totally enslaved to his party’s radical left.”
President Joe Biden speaks during the 59th presidential inauguration at the United States Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, January 20, 2021. Biden said he is committed to bipartisanship, but Hawley told Fox News that he did not see much of it from the president . (AP Photo / Patrick Semansky, Pool)
Hawley added, “You look at what he’s doing by canceling those energy jobs. You see he’s running the country in executive order, his ridiculous COVID plan, which has very little to do with COVID. … Have you ever looked at that record, and I assume that whoever he will nominate for the bank will be who the extreme left wants. But let’s see. “
Biden has yet to make a referral to the federal courts, although there are dozens of vacancies he inherited from the Trump administration or opened in the early days of his administration.
At least one more spot in the circuit court will be opened soon, when Judge Merrick Garland of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals is confirmed as the next attorney general. The DC Circuit is considered the second highest court in the country. And there is widespread speculation that Supreme Court judge Stephen Breyer may retire at the end of his current term, which ends in late spring.
Hawley also told Fox News on Friday that Trump’s role in the Republican Party’s future is “his to define” and criticized the Republican Party’s idea of a “civil war”.
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“I have to say to those who are – they seem really interested in the whole concept of a republican civil war, which I think is a DC thing. I mean, you can just come here to see that there is no war Our voters have no interest in returning, “he said. “They want to move on. And I can tell you, the same is true at home in Missouri. I mean, what is there a civil war about? So I think it’s … a total waste of time. He’s a consultant. of DC – invented thing? I just think people are not interested in that. “
The Biden government did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment.
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