Conservatives see Democratic religious bigotry in growing backlog of judicial nominees

Conservatives are turning up the heat on Senate Democrats to fill the growing number of federal judicial vacancies, blaming the backlog in part on Democratic hostility to the traditional religious beliefs of some White House nominees.

The Judicial Crisis Network has rolled out a $1.5 million cable and digital ad campaign accusing Democrats of “taking their obstruction to disgraceful new lows, shamefully bullying nominees, attacking them because of their faith.”

 

President Trump on Tuesday released the names of the 51 nominees he intends to renominate to the federal bench, but there are now 163 vacancies, more than the 125 when he took office in 2017, causing consternation on the right.

“Democrats have reached an extreme low with their obstructionist tactics now involving smears and religious tests,” said Penny Nance, president and CEO of Concerned Women for America. “President Trump and Republicans need to expose this extremism for what it is and move forward immediately to confirm constitutionalist judges and fill the record number of judicial vacancies the nation faces.”

More than 30 judicial nominees had passed committee muster and were awaiting floor votes at the end of the year before Senate Democrats blocked them.