Trump Elevates Unqualified Judge as a Reward for Defending Kavanaugh
AND IN OTHER NEWS: McConnell still busy filling every court vacancy out there with conservative judges.
...McConnell was in Louisville, Kentucky, with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to attend the swearing-in ceremony for Justin Walker, a close ally of both men, to a federal district court. The American Bar Association gave Walker a rare Not Qualified rating, yet the majority leader persuaded the Senate to confirm the nominee on a party-line vote in October.
Walker, 37, has done nothing of note during his five months on the district court. Nonetheless, on Friday, Donald Trump nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the second-most-powerful court in the country. With this unusually fast promotion, Trump is elevating another partisan hack who will faithfully implement the Republican Party platform from the bench for decades to come.
...Walker graduated from Harvard Law School in 2009, clerked for Brett Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit, then for Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court.
...Walker sprang into action to lobby on Kavanaughs behalf. Walker made 162 media appearances between June 27, 2018, and Oct. 6, 2018, to defend his former boss, many on Fox News. He consistently praised Kavanaugh in political terms.
Noting that Walker's "Not Qualified rating by the ABA, Schumer said it appeared "the only reason Mr. Walker has been nominated for an austere judgeship is his membership in the Federalist Society and his far-right wing views on health care, civil rights, and executive power.''
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/justin-walker-mcconnell-trump-dc-circuit.html