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This will be a weekly post. Count is now at 33. Kyle Duncan was confirmed to the 5th circuit, that makes 15 Appeals Court judges confirmed thus far. Also, the Rules committee voted to alter the cloture rules this week, which, if approved by the full Senate, will speed up confirmations. The Senate was dealing with the Secretary of state and ambassador to Germany nominations. Supposedly, McConnell plans a string of judicial confirmations next week. We'll see.

Lawyer who helped Hobby Lobby win before the Supreme Court will serve on Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Religious liberty advocates received a boost in federal courts after the Senate confirmed one of the nation's leading First Amendment attorneys to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate voted to approve President Trump's nominee, Kyle Duncan, to Louisiana's Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. Duncan is the former general counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit law firm that "exists to defend the free exercise of all faiths, from Anglican to Zoroastrian," as it says on...

A lawyer who led the fight against Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate, eventually winning the Hobby Lobby case before the Supreme Court, won confirmation by the Senate Tuesday to a federal appeals court. Senators voted 50-47 to confirm Stuart Kyle Duncan to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Only one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, broke with his party to support Mr. Duncan. Other Democrats voiced opposition to Mr. Duncan as an “unfit ideologue” who fought women’s access to reproductive healthcare. They also said his defense of state laws requiring photo-ID to vote,...

WASHINGTON — Louisiana U.S. Sen. John Kennedy lambasted several of the Trump administration's picks for the federal judiciary, calling one nominee "embarrassing" and questioning the competency of the White House office charged with vetting potential judges. Kennedy became the first GOP senator to vote against a Trump administration nominee for a federal judgeship Tuesday night, turning down his thumb at Gregory Katsas' nomination for the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The senator said Katsas, an attorney who currently serves as deputy counsel to President Donald Trump, would have an inherent conflict of interest on the appeals court because of...

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is moving to nix the blue slip for two of President Trump’s judicial picks, sparking a showdown with Democrats over nominations. Grassley announced on Thursday that he has scheduled Nov. 29 hearings for David Stras, Trump’s nomination to be an appellate judge on the 8th Circuit, and for Kyle Duncan, nominated to serve the 5th Circuit. “Today I’m announcing that the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing for two circuit court nominees, each of whom has one home state senator who has not returned a blue slip containing a positive endorsement,” Grassley said from the Senate...

One of President Trump's judicial nominees is getting much-needed support from the Judicial Crisis Network. The network is throwing its support behind Kyle Duncan, President Trump's choice for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana.Duncan has quite the track record. He is a Constitutional lawyer and represented Hobby Lobby in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Hobby Lobby case tackled the question of whether or not the Religious Freedom Act of 1993 allows a business to not provide contraception to its employees based on the sincerely held religious beliefs of its owners. In a...

Conservative Christian legal warrior Kyle Duncan and Chief U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt were nominated Thursday to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. President Donald Trump will make the announcement this afternoon. The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit hears appeals from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. Judge throws out part of suit against Louisiana abortion law A Louisiana native, Duncan practices law in Washington, D.C., specializing in causes involving religious issues and the public sector. He was hired by then Gov. Bobby Jindal to defend a constitutional challenge to a newly passed state law that required doctors who perform abortions...