Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Opposing The Nomination Of Unqualified Trump Loyalist Jennifer Mascott To Be Circuit Court Judge For The Third Circuit

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to oppose the nomination of Jennifer Mascott to be a Circuit Court judge to the Third Circuit, citing that she is not licensed to practice law in the state of Delaware and places her obeisance to Donald Trump over the rule of law. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Today, the Senate will vote to advance the nomination of Jennifer Mascott of Maryland to be a Circuit Court judge for the Third Circuit.

I will oppose Ms. Mascott’s nomination because she does not seem to have any other qualifications for the job than this: she’s a career loyalist and a sycophant of Donald Trump.

She has no connections to the Third Circuit. She has never lived in Delaware. She is not even licensed to practice law in Delaware. In fact, her only link to the state is a beachside summer home.

If you look at Ms. Mascott’s resume, the only time she ever really practiced law were the two years she worked in Trump’s Department of Justice. That’s it. And you're putting her on the Circuit Court? One of the most important courts in the country?

Well, the only reason Donald Trump is putting her on the bench is because he thinks she will do what he wants from the bench. She'll be a total Trump sycophant. She won’t look at the law. She won’t look at the facts. She will just look at Donald Trump and see which way he's nodding and follow it.

This nominee is another troubling example of the Trumpification of the federal bench, where loyalists replace jurists and obeisance to Trump matters more than adherence to law or precedent or the Constitution.

It’s just like what we saw yesterday in the Judiciary Committee – Pam Bondi showed herself as woefully unqualified to be Attorney General, but a supremely obeisant Trump deputy. She spent her time dodging questions, hurling insults, and – most importantly for Donald Trump – defending the president’s interests more than anything else, even if the law or fact or truth pointed strongly in the other direction.

This troubling pattern of obeisance above all in our system of justice is dangerous and troubling. So, I will oppose today’s nominee and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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