Free Republic

With the Senate back to business in Washington, D.C., this week, the body moved ahead with what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said is his top priority -- confirming judges -- this time with the Senate Judiciary Committee holding a tense hearing for a Trump nominee named to a powerful slot on the nation's second-highest court. The committee Wednesday considered the nomination of Judge Justin Walker to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, also known as the D.C. Circuit, the first step to confirming the 37-year-old judge after he was nominated early last month. The...

The Senate Judiciary Committee erupted with infighting Thursday as a top Republican lawmaker pushed legislation aimed at crafting new rules for asylum-seekers from Central American countries. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the chairman of the committee, faced immediate accusations as he brought up the bill that he was violating Senate rules. In a dispute that quickly got personal, Ranking Member Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said the committee was one Democrat shy of having a quorum during a meeting last week and therefore could not advance the bill. “Why even have rules?” Feinstein asked rhetorically. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., backed her up,...