Thread by @ZoeTillman

The Senate Judiciary Committee is hearing now from 2nd Circuit nominee Steven Menashi, who serves in the WH counsel's office. He's strongly opposed by groups on the left, which have pointed to his work w/ Ed Sec. DeVos and "racist, sexist, homophobic" rhetoric, among other things

Menashi isn't supported by his home state senators from NY. Reflecting that, he's being introduced at today's hearing by Utah Sen. Mike Lee

The legal right has rallied around Menashi, accusing his critics of misrepresenting what he's said/written in the past. Here's @JCNSeverino: nationalreview.com/bench-memos/cn…

I'm watching Menashi's hearing online, but even through the livestream you can hear that there's shouting/chanting going on near the room. Menashi just paused as it got loud. Yesterday, there were protests against Menashi that led to arrests

https://twitter.com/jbendery/status/1171509872703131650

Re: Menashi's role in WH counsel's office, Feinstein asks if he advised Stephen Miller on immigration policy. Menashi confirms that he did, but won't provide specifics on what policies he provided legal advice on or who else was in the room

Feinstein says that now-DC Circuit Judge Greg Katsas spoke about matters he worked on in the WH counsel's office at his hearing. Menashi says there was consultation before Katsas' hearing about what he was authorized to talk about, and that didn't happen this time

Graham says that Feinstein pressing Menashi to answer Qs about what issues he provided legal advice on to Trump policy advisers and then criticizing him for not doing so isn't fair when Dems could have tried to work out an accommodation a la Katsas

Hawley asks what Menashi thinks about nationwide injunctions, noting criticism from Trump and AG Barr. Menashi says it's an important issue, but declines to offer an opinion because it's an issue pending in the courts

Durbin tries again to ask Menashi if he worked on certain Trump admin immigration policies in WH counsel's office. Notably, Graham intervenes to side with Durbin, saying Menashi should be able to say genearlly what he worked on, just not what legal advice he gave...

...Menashi demurs, but gives a little bit. On medical deferral policy, says it's something he may have worked on, but doesn't specifically recall. On public charge rule, says his role was to review legal issues related to regs, so that was "likely" one he would have looked at

Whitehouse asks Menashi about 2002 piece that referred to unsubstantiated story that a US general executed Muslim prisoners using bullets dipped in pig fat. Menashi said that at the time he'd seen the story elsewhere and thought it was true, but now regrets repeating it

Blumenthal asks Menashi if Brown v. Board was correctly decided. Menashi says generally it's not okay for nominees to give thumbs up/thumbs down on specific cases, BUT in this case he would say Brown was correctly decided b/c of its "special role" in constitutional history

For background on the evolution of answers from Trump judicial nominees on the Brown v. Board question: buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

Blumenthal then asks Menashi if Roe v. Wade was correctly decided. Menashi demurs on this one, saying that because it's currently being litigated, it wouldn't be appropriate to respond. But he says it's SCOTUS precedent that's repeatedly been affirmed and that he would follow

That's a wrap on Menashi's hearing. One question going in, given the controversy over Menashi's nomination, was whether the Democratic presidential candidates who sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee would be there (Harris, Booker, Klobuchar) — they were not

The committee is now hearing from three district court nominees:
- Karen Marston for ED-PA
- Richard Myers II for ED-NC
- Anuraag Singhal for SD-FL

Notably, Myers is nominated for the oldest vacancy in the federal courts right now. That seat has been open since Dec. 2005

(That NC seat is the one that Thomas Farr was unsuccessfully nominated for, twice)