White House lawyer Steven Menashi was confirmed Nov. 14 to the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, giving that court a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents.
The Republican-led Senate cleared the former Kirkland & Ellis partner and Samuel Alito clerk for the lifetime appointment, 51 to 41.
Menashi becomes the 46th circuit judge appointed by President Donald Trump, who has made good on his campaign pledge to reshape the federal courts with younger conservatives.
Menashi, 40, moved swiftly through the Senate although the confirmation process was one of the more contentious for a Trump judicial appointee.
Democrats sharply criticized his past writings on race, especially, although he said he rejects discrimination. They also raised objections to his work as a White House senior legal counsel and as a top adviser to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
They and some Republicans were unhappy with his refusal to discuss in basic detail his role in advising senior Trump White House officials on immigration policy, specifically an initiative that separated immigrant families at the Southern Border.
Democrats also tied him to Education Department policy changes thrown out by a federal judge that weakened an Obama-era program aimed at protecting student borrowers from predatory for-profit college lending practices.
Some Republicans pushed back on Menashi criticism, citing his D.C. Circuit and Supreme Court clerkships, his partnership in one of the more prestigious law firms, and his work as a litigator.
Republican Susan Collins of Maine was the only lawmaker to cross party lines, joining all of the Democrats in voting no. She’s a moderate and Democrats have highlighted her key vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court as a reason voters should reject her at the polls in 2020.
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