In an email to supporters today, Heritage Foundation president Ed Feulner castigates the Senate for failing to “do its job” and confirm President Trump’s judicial nominees. As Feulner explains it, the American people did their job by electing Trump to “make America great again.” Then Heritage did its job by hand-picking many of Trump’s judicial nominees. But now, he says, the Senate isn’t doing its job by speeding those nominees through the confirmation process.
This is all a bit jarring coming from a group that tried to prevent President Obama from placing almost any federal judges on the bench during his entire final year in office, was a leading force behind the blockade of Obama’s nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, and spent the election season promising that it would throw up every roadblock possible to any federal judicial nominees Hillary Clinton would make if she were to be elected president, including possibly leaving the Scalia seat vacant for eight more years.
Feulner feigns shock that there are currently 120 federal judicial vacancies waiting to be filled—he does not mention that Heritage was among the groups that helped to rack up those vacancies by preventing Obama from filling them.
Feulner’s email:
I'm more than a little frustrated right now. I can't stand it when people don't do their job.
You see, this is how it's supposed to work:
- The American people vote for a president that they believe will act in the best interest of the country.
- That president appoints capable, reputable nominees to serve as federal judges to interpret, preserve, and protect our nation's laws and Constitution.
- The Senate reviews these candidates' qualifications and confirms or rejects them based on their competence and experience.
Steps one and two have been completed. But the Senate is not doing its job.
Right now there 120 vacancies in the federal courts that are waiting for judges to be installed. One hundred and twenty!
The American people have done their job -- Last year you voted Donald Trump into office to "make America great again."
The Heritage Foundation has done our job -- many of the current nominees are taken from the extensive list that Heritage provided after thorough vetting and research.
Why isn't the Senate doing its job?
You can help me demand this, directly. I've drafted an open letter to the U.S. Senate that I'm asking you to read and sign if you feel that they should stop sitting on their hands and start getting to work by confirming committed constitutionalists.
Every day that they don't, more and more rulings are passed by left-leaning judges that Obama appointed during his tenure that completely ignore the Constitution.
