Senate panel confirms McConnell protege Justin Walker for nation's No. 2 court

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s handpicked nominee for what is considered the national second most important court was confirmed Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Judge Justin Walker, 37, was endorsed 12-10 on a party-line vote by the panel, which sent the nomination to the full Senate for a vote. 

University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias, who follows judicial appointments, predicted McConnell will bring up Walker's nomination for the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia as early as next week and that it will be confirmed along party lines. 

In a statement, Nan Aron, president of Alliance for Justice, a liberal advocacy group, said the nomination of "extremist judges" like Walker is "putting the fate of this country at serious risk. During a health crisis, they are advancing a judge who supports taking health care away from at least 20 million people, including people with preexisting conditions.”  

Check out:5 things to know about Justin Walker and his backing by McConnell

In a statement, McConnell applauded the committee for recognizing "Judge Walker’s incredible talent and steadfast dedication to justice and the rule of law." McConnell said he looks forward to his consideration by the full Senate.

Democrats on the committee had complained that Walker was too inexperienced — he was appointed to the district court in Louisville only seven months ago — and that he would not have been nominated if he weren’t a family friend of McConnell, for whom he once worked as a clerk. 

Democrats also cited his opposition to the Affordable Care Act at a time the nation is in a pandemic. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said Thursday that Walker will "pursue his policy-driven goals."

Republicans, knowing they had the votes to confirm Walker, did not speak before the roll was called.  

Walker, who grew up in Louisville, was until recently a professor at the University of Louisville and an attorney in the Louisville office of Dinsmore & Shohl. 

McConnell has described Walker as a "brilliant legal mind" and noted in a tweet that he "is so qualified and fair-minded that he's even won the blessing of the left-leaning American Bar Association that Democrats themselves call 'the gold standard.'"

Earlier:Democrats attack Justin Walker's judicial nomination during pandemic

Walker was rated well qualified for the appellate seat by the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary after it found him unqualified for the district bench, citing his experience. 

Walker, who is young and conservative, is seen as the epitome of the type of nominees who McConnell and President Donald Trump are trying to put on the bench. 

Republicans at a May 6 hearing touted his credentials, which include graduating magna cum laude from Duke and cum laude from Harvard Law School before serving as law clerk to Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the Court of Appeals and then for Justice Anthony Kennedy at the Supreme Court.

Defending the nomination, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Walker had been unfairly called "McConnell’s boy" and "McConnell’s intern" and "accused of everything but hating golden retrievers."  

Walker testified that while he wrote against President Barack Obama’s signature health care bill as a private citizen, as a judge he considers the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act decision to be “binding law” and will obey it if he’s confirmed to the Court of Appeals.

Previously:#StopWalker trends as Senate Dems protest judicial appointee

Walker was a prominent figure in the Federalist Society, which supports limited government, and co-director of U of L’s  Ordered Liberty Program, which promotes "federalism, separation of powers, originalism, natural rights, and the common good."

In law review articles, he wrote that openness can be bad for government and in support of reducing the independence of the FBI from the president. 

But when he was nominated for the district court last year, Kate Crosby, who helps run the Louisville chapter of the American Constitution Society, a group of progressive lawyers, said in appearances as a guest speaker he had been "gracious, warm and engaging and impressed me as a thoughtful, respectful and willing listener." 

At Dinsmore, Kenyon Meyer, managing partner of its Louisville office, said he "loves to explore ideas with people of all views" and "he’s a great guy to have a beer with."

Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; awolfson@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @adwolfson. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/andreww.