Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was left reeling by the news that President Donald Trump is on the verge of converting the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals into a conservative majority — and he did it by outmanuevering Schumer politically.
And Trump did it in Schumer’s own backyard.
Now, Schumer wants the mainstream media to know just how mad he is that Trump didn’t play ball.
Judges Joseph Bianco and Michael Park were both confirmed by the Senate last week, putting Trump within striking distance of flipping the appeals court to a conservative majority. Bianco and Park were Trump’s second and third nominees to be confirmed to the appeals court, and with two remaining vacancies needed to be filled, Trump will likely fill the court with a conservative majority for the first time in decades.
The 2nd circuit court covers New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. Because it’s jurisdiction includes Manhattan — and notably, Wall Street — the court often rules on corporate and securities law.
Schumer complained to the mainstream media that Trump’s nominees were “stooges” for conservative legal networks.
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Schumer did everything he could to stop the Trump nominees, so Trump went ahead without him.
“Schumer and [New York Sen.] Kirsten Gillibrand withheld so-called blue slips for Bianco and Park,” The Daily Caller reported. “Under past Senate convention, the Senate Judiciary Committee would not convene a confirmation hearing until senators return an opinion on a judicial nominee selected for a court in their state.”
Park’s confirmation left conservative legal experts cheering.
“Park’s conservative bona fides run deep. A graduate of Yale Law School, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito during his time on the Third Circuit,” The New York Law Journal reported. “He also served during the Bush administration as an attorney-adviser in the DOJ’s office of legal counsel before joining Dechert in 2012 as partner.”
Bianco’s confirmation was also well received by legal experts.
“Joseph Bianco has a proven track record of fairly applying the law and adhering to the Constitution,” Carrie Severino of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network told The Daily Caller. “I enthusiastically applaud the Senate for confirming him and am confident he will be an exceptional judge on the 2nd Circuit.”