Senate confirms openly gay Trump nominee to 9th Circuit
Published in The Washington Times
The Senate confirmed President Trump’s ninth judicial nominee to the liberal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, elevating Patrick Bumatay, an openly gay Filipino man, to the federal bench over objections from his liberal home-state senators.
Mr. Bumatay, who has worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, cleared the Senate by a 53-40 party-line vote.
He did not have support from California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala D. Harris, who said the White House never consulted with them about the nominee.
“Patrick Bumatay lacks the knowledge and experience necessary for the 9th Circuit. He also acknowledged working on the separation of immigrant families while at the Justice Department and refused to answer questions about other controversial issues,” said Ms. Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
Daniel Goldberg, legal director of the progressive Alliance for Justice, said there’s plenty of more qualified Republican lawyers in California the president could have tapped.