Thapar Hearing Does Nothing to Allay Concerns

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 26 – Following today’s brief confirmation hearing for Judge Amul Thapar, Donald Trump’s nominee for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron issued the following statement:

“Democratic senators deserve credit for thoughtful, probing questions at today’s hearing.  In the end, Judge Thapar did nothing to alleviate concerns that he is an ultraconservative jurist, handpicked by the Federalist Society, who passed all of Donald Trump’s litmus tests for judicial nominees. If anything, he showed even less inclination to be independent from Trump than Justice Neil Gorsuch, who at least disavowed Trump’s insults of federal judges. Thapar would not do the same.  We call on senators to think very carefully about the wisdom of promoting Judge Thapar to a lifetime seat on a higher federal court.”