Biden intends to nominate a conservative, anti-abortion lawyer to federal judgeship, Kentucky Democrats say
Biden intends to nominate a conservative, anti-abortion lawyer to federal judgeship, Kentucky Democrats say
U.S. President Joe Biden intends to nominate an anti-abortion Republican lawyer to a federal judgeship, two Kentucky Democrats informed of the decision say.
The prospective nominee, conservative lawyer Chad Meredith, would serve in a lifetime appointment to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Meredith's prospective appointment was first reported by The Courier-Journal.
Kentucky Democrats expressed outrage about Meredith's expected nomination to the court before it was clear that a vacancy would emerge on the bench. But on Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Karen K. Caldwell of the Eastern District of Kentucky was added to a public list of future federal judicial vacancies, clearing a path for Meredith to potentially join the court.
The U.S. Courts list indicates that Caldwell shared her decision late last month to move into "senior" status as a judge for the court. By taking senior status, U.S. Courts states, judges may choose to handle a reduced caseload; regardless of that caseload, the status creates a vacancy on the court they serve on.
Biden's prospective nomination comes just as the President is pledging to use everything within his power to fight for abortion rights in the wake of last week's U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. With the federal constitutional right to an abortion eliminated, states will have to determine abortion rights unless Congress acts.
Meredith previously worked as then-Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin's deputy counsel, defending a state law that requires doctors performing abortions to first perform an ultrasound and describe the image on the monitor to the patient.
In court in 2018, Meredith argued that the law would make sure women were more fully informed of their decision because "not every patient understands the consequences of the abortion procedure."
"This is right in the heartland of what states are permitted to do to regulate medicine," Meredith said at the time. "There are a number of patients who don't understand the nature of the fetus within them."
A spokesperson for Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky told CNN that the congressman "was informed of the White House's intent to nominate Meredith by White House staff." And Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said in a news conference on Thursday that his team was informed about Biden's intention to nominate Meredith "late last week."
"My understanding right now is it has not been submitted, which I hope at the very least means it's on pause," Beshear said.
Beshear had strong words for Biden, saying: "If the President makes that nomination, it is indefensible."
The governor also criticized Meredith's involvement in Bevin's decision to issue hundreds of pardons before leaving office, which included forgiveness for a variety of violent acts such as murder and rape. There were accusations from critics that some of the pardons had been political in nature, which Bevin denied at the time.
"I don't know how the President can say he's for public safety if he makes this nomination," Beshear added.
Asked for comment, a White House official said, "As a matter of practice, we don't comment on executive or judicial vacancies."
Yarmuth told The Courier-Journal he believed Meredith's prospective nomination "is part of some larger deal on judicial nominations between the President and Mitch McConnell" -- namely, to get the Senate minority leader to agree to no longer hold up Biden's future federal nominations.
Brian Fallon, the co-founder and executive director of Demand Justice, a left-leaning organization focused on America's courts, on Friday criticized Biden's potential nomination of Meredith as a contrast to his record on judicial nominations.
"One of the unqualified success stories of the Biden presidency was his prioritizing of judicial nominations and elevation of public defenders and civil rights lawyers. I don't get why you would undercut that record to make a bad deal with McConnell - on the heels of (the Supreme Court's decision that overturned Roe v. Wade) no less," Fallon tweeted.
CNN has reached out to Meredith and McConnell's office for comment.
There are 119 current or expected lower court vacancies. The Biden administration has named a nominee for 34 of those vacancies so far.
Exposure to synthetic ‘forever chemicals’ often polluting the environment has been linked to the most common type of liver cancer, according to a recent study.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative party leader but he trails opponent Jean Charest for support among Canadians as a whole.
With inflation rising at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years, the cost of everything from food to gas has skyrocketed. Canadians across the country are feeling squeezed, but big families with multiple children are at times shouldering much of the higher costs — and changing demographics and consumer patterns have left some of them more exposed to inflation than in previous generations.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
At the age of 13, Wyatt Sharpe has interviewed the prime minister, a premier, party leaders and cabinet ministers -- and he's not even in high school yet.
Donald Trump was being questioned under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general's long-running civil investigation into his business dealings as a flurry of legal activity surrounds the former U.S. president.
The ingredients in a 2,300-year-old ancient Chinese chemistry formula have finally been identified, revealing new secrets about metallurgy in ancient China.
A state of emergency remains in place in central Newfoundland due to out-of-control forest fires, but a major highway that had been closed for days has been reopened, allowing supplies to be delivered to stranded communities.
Ontario is set to introduce legislation today to give large municipal leaders so-called strong mayor powers as a way to get housing built more quickly.
With inflation rising at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years, the cost of everything from food to gas has skyrocketed. Canadians across the country are feeling squeezed, but big families with multiple children are at times shouldering much of the higher costs — and changing demographics and consumer patterns have left some of them more exposed to inflation than in previous generations.
Health Canada has recalled about 110,000 Canadian Tire cordless blinds because the not-so-cordless blinds pose a strangulation hazard for young children.
China on Wednesday reaffirmed its threat to use military force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control, amid threatening Chinese military exercises that have raised tensions between the sides to their highest level in years.
Ukraine's air force said Wednesday that nine Russian warplanes were destroyed in massive explosions at an air base in Crimea amid speculation they were the result of a Ukrainian attack that would represent a significant escalation in the war.
A former Twitter employee has been convicted of failing to register as an agent for Saudi Arabia and other charges after accessing private data on users critical of the kingdom's government in a spy case that spanned from Silicon Valley to the Middle East.
Police announced a breakthrough Tuesday in the killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, New Mexico, charging a man from Afghanistan – himself a Muslim – with two of the slayings and identifying him as a prime suspect in the other killings that put the entire community on edge.
Donald Trump was being questioned under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general's long-running civil investigation into his business dealings as a flurry of legal activity surrounds the former U.S. president.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative party leader but he trails opponent Jean Charest for support among Canadians as a whole.
The government is working hard to meet its end-of-year deadline to deliver dental-care coverage to kids, the deputy prime minister said Tuesday, but added providing new services is 'complicated.'
Expressing concerns over the RCMP's yearslong use of spyware in major investigations, privacy and civil liberties experts say the previously undisclosed tools are 'extremely intrusive' and they are calling for stronger oversight and regulation of spyware Canada-wide.
A Nebraska woman has been charged with helping her teenage daughter end her pregnancy at about 24 weeks after investigators uncovered Facebook messages in which the two discussed using medication to induce an abortion and plans to burn the fetus afterward.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Two new features being introduced on WhatsApp, which will let you choose who can see when you're active, and to leave groups silently, will start rolling out to all WhatsApp users this month.
Snapchat on Tuesday introduced its first parental control center, nearly 10 months after an executive from the company told Congress it was developing tools aimed at helping parents keep their teens safe.
The ingredients in a 2,300-year-old ancient Chinese chemistry formula have finally been identified, revealing new secrets about metallurgy in ancient China.
Socially conscious rockers The Tragically Hip, eminent broadcaster Barbara Frum and music video visionary Director X are among the homegrown icons set to be inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
Bob Odenkirk has said he would have been 'dead in a few minutes' if he had not received CPR after suffering a heart attack on the set of 'Better Call Saul' last year.
Firefighters on Tuesday finally overcame what officials described as the worst fire in Cuba's history that over five days destroyed 40% of the Caribbean island's main fuel storage facility and caused massive blackouts.
Falling gas prices gave Americans a slight break from the pain of high inflation last month, though overall price increases slowed only modestly from the four-decade high that was reached in June.
A Little League batter rose from a beaning to console the upset pitcher in a dramatic scene at a Little League regional tournament game Tuesday in Waco, Texas.
At the age of 13, Wyatt Sharpe has interviewed the prime minister, a premier, party leaders and cabinet ministers -- and he's not even in high school yet.
Not only will Team Canada be playing on home soil when they face Latvia in their first game of the tournament on Wednesday, they'll be doing so during a period of intense scrutiny for Canadian hockey.
The World Cup in Qatar could start one day earlier than scheduled with FIFA looking at a plan to let the host nation play Ecuador on Nov. 20, a person familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Bolivia's decision to open an alternate route to its historic 'Death Road' - a serpentine dirt path across the towering Andes hills known for its deadly cliffs - has led to a resurgence of wildlife in the area, according to an environmental group.
Bicycles have long been a means of transport in China and once outnumbered cars on city streets. Now cycling is increasingly also seen as a sport by an urban middle class that has benefited from China's growth into the world's second largest economy.
The new plan to encourage Americans to buy more electric vehicles built in North America, instead of just the United States, has cleared its tallest hurdle, and for the Canadian auto industry, the stakes are enormous.
