Johnson, Baldwin Split on Trump’s Pick for Appeals Court Judge
U.S. Senate ready to approve Milwaukee prosecutor Rebecca Taibleson for position.
Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson
Rebecca Taibleson, the Milwaukee prosecutor picked by President Donald Trump for a federal judgeship, cleared a procedural hurdle Thursday and is on her way to a full confirmation vote next week.
U.S. Senators voted 50-45 to invoke cloture, or end debate and force a vote, on Taibleson’s nomination to sit on the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 7th Circuit covers the states of Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.
The vote occurred along party lines, and Taibleson’s home state senators were divided. While Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has backed the Trump pick for months, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin voted against moving Taibleson forward, citing concerns over Taibleson’s statements about same-sex marriage.
Taibleson next faces a roll call vote on her confirmation, scheduled for Monday.
That will cap an unusual process, during which she faced criticism from certain wings of the Republican party, even after being selected by Trump.
That criticism had largely dissipated by the time Taibleson, an assistant U.S. attorney, cleared a committee vote on her nomination earlier this month.
Both Johnson and Baldwin had a hand in Taibleson’s initial ascent to the nomination. Her name emerged on a short list of candidates from the bipartisan Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission, which historically has held sway when determining who will sit on federal benches or hold U.S. attorney positions.
Both Johnson and Baldwin forwarded that list to the president, though that did not amount to a full endorsement. While Johnson publicly praised Taibleson, Baldwin said she would reserve judgment.
In a statement Thursday, Baldwin said that she could not support Taibleson because of remarks she made during her confirmation hearing about Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage across the country.
At her September hearing, Taibleson would not say whether she thought that case had been correctly decided but said she “would faithfully apply that precedent as a lower court judge.”
“Wisconsinites expect judges who have relevant experience, respect everyone’s rights and freedoms, and will deliver justice fairly and impartially,” Baldwin said. “I have reviewed Ms. Taibleson’s application, her previous work and statements, and her confirmation hearing, and sadly, she does not meet those standards and what Wisconsinites deserve.”
Johnson did not publicly describe his vote in support of Taibleson, but during her confirmation hearings, he praised her qualifications and conservative bona fides, including clerking for Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Brett Kavanaugh.
“Praise for Rebecca’s legal mind and commitment to the Constitution is numerous and glowing,” he said at the time. “I strongly encourage everyone to vote in favor of her confirmation.”
Johnson, Baldwin split as Senate advances Trump’s pick for appeals court was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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