Justin Walker epitomizes the conservative judicial project. He became a federal judge at 37 with no trial experience and sterling right-wing credentials. Eight months later, he has been promoted to the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, a frequent feeder to the Supreme Court, according to NBC News.
Walker’s confirmation Thursday by a Senate vote of 51 to 42 puts President Donald Trump one shy of his 200th judicial confirmation, which is teed up for next week. It’s a number not achieved by any president at this stage in four decades.
A Harvard J.D., Walker’s meteoric rise was aided by his Kentucky ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a family friend for whom he once interned, and his outspoken conservatism — just two years ago he called the 2012 Supreme Court ruling to uphold Obamacare “catastrophic.”
“He’s sort of the classic case. They’ve designed their perfect judicial nominee: He’s young, white, male and incredibly conservative with a record of activism to back it up,” said Chris Kang, a co-founder of the progressive group Demand Justice and former deputy counsel to President Barack Obama.
Read the full story at NBC News.com.
