Marsha Blackburn says Biden nominee unfit for service, calls out Democrats’ hypocrisy
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., says "making sure that people are fit for the bench and fit for public office is something that we should do," and that there is "hypocrisy in some of these nominations and these votes."
One of President Biden’s judicial nominees is withdrew his nomination on Thursday because he was unable to earn the votes to advance out of the Democrat-led Senate Judiciary Committee.
Michael Delaney, who was nominated to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, withdrew his nomination in a letter to Biden obtained by Fox News Digital.
"I am honored that you nominated me for judicial service. I am also deeply indebted to Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan for their continued support of my pending nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee," Delaney wrote.
"I am most respectful of the Senate's constitutional role in considering my nomination. At this time, I believe it is appropriate for me to withdraw my name from consideration for this position to advance the important work of the federal judiciary."
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Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Delaney was originally scheduled to be considered for a vote at a committee business meeting Thursday morning but was removed from the agenda, signaling that he wouldn't have the votes to move forward.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., remarked in the meeting that "making sure that people are fit for the bench and fit for public office is something that we should do.
"And there is hypocrisy in some of these nominations and these votes. And I appreciate that he was removed from consideration today.
"We have members of this committee who ask everybody that comes before us, ‘have you committed sexual harassment and sexual assault?’ And yet they’re willing to vote for a judge who used hardball tactics against a girl to cover up that a private, elite school was guilty of pushing and participating and removing anonymity from a student at that school," Blackburn stated.
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Blackburn was likely referring to her committee colleague, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, who asks every nominee of their sexual assault history.
She was also referring to Delaney's role in a 2014 case defending St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, in a case against student Owen Lambrie. When he was 18, Lambrie was accused of raping a 15-year-old student, Chessy Prout.
Sen. Lindsey Graham. R-S.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The contention in the hearing stemmed from a motion that Delaney filed during the 2014 court proceedings that could have required Prout, who was a minor at the time, to have her anonymity lifted.
It’s unclear which Democrat or Democrats on the committee opposed Delaney, or why. But Blackburn said, in her view, Delaney's actions in that case should have disqualified him.
"As we talk about people that are unfit for public service, Michael Delaney is one of those individuals," Blackburn said Thursday.
"And as we reviewed his record when he came before this committee, we brought forward and he did not deny, his use of ‘hardball’ tactics against a 15-year-old girl," she said.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "President Biden put forward a deeply qualified nominee, with a long and distinguished career in public service. The White House will consult with New Hampshire’s Senators to identify a new nominee."
"The President looks forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to build on his historic record of nominating and confirming men and women who are dedicated to the rule of law and who continue to break barriers by representing the diversity of our country," he said.
Ranking committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned Thursday in the meeting that having a majority in the committee means the majority party can "tend to pick people that are being pushed by the most partisan folks on either side of the aisle."
Michael Delaney, a Biden administration nominee to serve on the First Circuit Court, is grilled by GOP senators in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Feb. 15, 2023. (Fox News/screenshot)
"And I will continue to support my colleagues' discretion, collaborating with the White House to pick people… but it can’t be without bounds. So, Mr. Chairman, this is sort of a wake-up call for all of us," he said.
Graham said that while he was initially inclined to support Delaney's nomination, the confirmation hearing changed his mind.
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"Through the process of the hearing — and I want to compliment my colleagues for asking hard questions — you proved, I think, that Mr. Delaney was not ready for primetime. I think the questions you asked he couldn’t give a coherent answer to," Graham said.
"I think it would be good for the committee not just to ask have you ever done anything wrong. But when somebody can't give a coherent answer, to do something about it."
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