Nov 10, 2017

Trump judge pick has no trial experience

Evan Vucci / AP

A Trump nominee to be a federal judge in Alabama, Brett J. Talley, has only practiced law for 3 years, never tried a case and was rated "not qualified" by the American Bar Association, the L.A. Times reports. Talley opponents said he has some of the least experience ever seen for a nomination. Conservatives say the ABA is a biased rater of judges.

Talley is 36, has a Harvard Law degree and had clerked for 2 federal judges. In writings he denounced "Hillary Rotten Clinton" and pledged support for the NRA, the paper reported. His nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, sending him to the full Senate for consideration.

Why it matters: Appointing federal judges can be a president's most consequential act as they remain on the bench long after a presidency is over. The Alliance for Justice, a group that has opposed Trump nominees, says Trump is filling judicial jobs much faster than his predecessor.

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Axios
Updated 48 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 32,595,105 — Total deaths: 989,663 — Total recoveries: 22,508,651 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 7,034,432 — Total deaths: 203,789 — Total recoveries: 2,727,335 — Total tests: 99,483,712 — Map.
  3. States: "We’re not closing anything going forward": Florida fully lifts COVID restaurant restrictions — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tests positive for coronavirus.
  4. Health: Young people accounted for 20% of cases this summer.
  5. Business: Coronavirus has made airports happier places — The expiration of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance looms.
  6. Education: Where bringing students back to school is most risky.
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Mike Allen, author of AM
14 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden pushes unity message in new TV wave

A fresh Joe Biden ad, "New Start," signals an effort by his campaign to make unity a central theme, underscoring a new passage in his stump speech that says he won't be a president just for Democrats but for all Americans.

What he's saying: The ad — which began Friday night, and is a follow-up to "Fresh Start" — draws from a Biden speech earlier in the week in Manitowoc, Wisconsin:

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Jonathan Swan, Alayna Treene, Sam Baker
15 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump prepares to announce Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court replacement

Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Photo: Matt Cashore/Notre Dame University via Reuters

President Trump is preparing to nominate federal appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, a favorite of both the social conservative base and Republican elected officials, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republican sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Barrett would push the already conservative court further and harder to the right, for decades to come, on the most important issues in American politics — from abortion to the limits of presidential power. If confirmed, she would give conservatives a 6-3 majority on the high court.

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