JUST IN: The Senate just confirmed Nicole Berner, a longtime SEIU lawyer and former Planned Parenthood litigator, to a lifetime federal judgeship on a U.S. appeals court. huffpost.com/entry/nicole-b… The final vote was 50-47.

No Republicans voted to confirm Berner. Not even the two GOP senators who identify as pro-choice, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.

Morning. ☕️

ICYMI: Biden's historic Muslim judicial nominee Adeel Mangi may not have the votes because 1) the GOP has spent months falsely casting him as an antisemitic, anti-cop terrorist sympathizer and 2) a coupla Dems are cowering.

Ugly, ugly stuff. huffpost.com/entry/adeel-ma… The attacks on Mangi have been so offensive I can't believe this hasn't gotten more attn.

For starters, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton + Josh Hawley demanded in his Senate hearing that he share his *personal views* on 9/11, the Oct. 7 attack in Israel + the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

Not sure what's more insane, the fact that 1) someone set up a GoFundMe to raise $350,000,000 for Trump because that's how much he owes in damages for decades of fraudulent business practices in NY or 2) it has raised more than $80K. The person behind this GoFundMe effort is Elena Cardone, who @lizskalka just wrote about.

She is married to get-rich-quick guru Grant Cardone, whose firm has been accused of overhyping his investment fund and luring followers into expensive contracts. huffpost.com/entry/kari-lak…

GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher, who has refused to say how he'll vote on impeaching Mayorkas and could potentially make or break this whole thing, is here on the House floor.

He is huddling with... Dem Rep. Dean Phillips. This vote is happening any minute now.

Mike Johnson just left for some reason.

Here we go. House GOP kicks off its hearing to mark up impeachment articles for DHS Sec Mayorkas for... no real reason.

"We're here today not because we want to be, but because we have exhausted all other options," says Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.).

(In fact, they have not.) If you haven't been following this, here is what is happening:

House Rs have been screaming about border security. But they don't know how to legislate. And Trump ordered them not to pass any bipartisan border bills bc it would give Biden a win.

So, impeach a cabinet secretary!

NEW: Today, Trump privately pressured Senate Republicans to “kill” a bipartisan deal to secure the U.S. border because he doesn’t want Biden to chalk up a win ahead of the 2024 presidential election, per a source familiar with negotiations. huffpost.com/entry/trump-bo… Trump directly reached out to several GOP senators today to tell them to reject any deal, said this source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.

He also personally reached out to some Senate Republicans over the weekend to do the same.

Catching up on last week's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with gazillions of Biden's judicial picks on the agenda, I see John Cornyn hailed Dick Durbin for honoring "blue slips" and ripped Dem groups for calling for ditching them.

Oh boy, where to begin with this. "Seems to me that given the track record of cooperation last Congress + this Congress by red-state senators, there'd be no basis to change the current policy," Cornyn said of keeping the committee's "blue slip" courtesy, which lets a single senator tank a president's court pick.

Ted Cruz to reporters: Biden's judges are "extreme!"

Me: Lots of Trump's judges were unqualified.

Cruz: "Ackchyually, the caliber of judges that Trump nominated was exceptional."

Me: Ten were rated "not qualified" to be judges by ABA. Zero of Biden's.

Cruz: ABA is partisan. Let's look at some of those unqualified judges that Ted Cruz supported.

There was Steven Grasz, who earned an embarrassing and unanimous “not qualified” rating for being “unable to separate his role as an advocate from that of a judge." huffpost.com/entry/senate-c…

NEW: Before coming to Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) spent years taking up lawsuits in defense of Christian speech and activities in public elementary schools and universities. huffpost.com/entry/mike-joh… "The ultimate goal of the enemy is silencing the Gospel," Johnson said in 2004 amid one lawsuit involving Jewish parents suing a public elementary school for pushing Christianity on their children.

“This is spiritual warfare.”

Biden more judicial nominees today, including Nicole Berner, a former Planned Parenthood litigator.

She litigated cases protecting medication abortion in Ohio, defending young people's access to abortion in Missouri + increasing abortion access in New Mexico. Berner is also a longtime union lawyer.

She's nominated to a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Get to know Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the GOP's latest speaker nominee.

He voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election by fueling a lie about widespread voter fraud that led to an insurrection at the Capitol building. Johnson also signed onto a Texas amicus brief in support of throwing out votes in swing states.

https://twitter.com/RepMikeJohnson/status/1336516362005581825

Rep. Omar is facing some very, very scary death threats right now and has said she is worried for her children's safety, and yet, here is the NRCC a few minutes ago, fanning this disgusting propaganda. In one voicemail left for her office, a male caller says, “I wish that someone would kill you and put you in hell.”

Another male caller says she should “drop dead for supporting f------ terrorists.” nbcnews.com/politics/congr…

And... we're back.

Jim Jordan, whose insistence that he be the next House speaker has resulted in his colleagues being bullied and facing death threats, is now on his THIRD attempt at finding the votes. We're on "H" in the roll call vote.

Jordan has already lost 13 GOP votes.

As in, he already does not have the votes to be speaker.

NEW: North Carolina's top GOP candidate for governor has a history of demeaning successful women.

A review of Mark Robinson's Facebook posts reveals a pattern of disgusting language about Michelle Obama, VP Harris, AOC, Taylor Swift and lots of others. huffpost.com/entry/mark-rob… A sampling of how Robinson, who is currently N.C.'s lieutenant governor, has talked about prominent women in politics and entertainment.

He has repeatedly referred to Michelle Obama as a man, said she speaks “ghetto” and that she emanates “the stench of human waste.”

A guy in North Carolina believes that Beyoncé is "satanic," that the 1969 moon landing may have been fake and that there's a ruling class of secretive reptiles.

This guy is Mark Robinson, the leading GOP candidate to be the state's next governor. huffpost.com/entry/republic… Imagine every conspiracy theory you've ever heard.

The moon landing wasn't real. 9/11 was an inside job. The CIA was behind JFK's murder. ISIS carried out the Las Vegas mass shooting. David Hogg is a paid actor, not a gun violence survivor.

Robinson has pushed all of these.

I see that a U.S. appeals court just imposed new restrictions on the abortion pill, mifepristone.

It will stay on the market for now, until SCOTUS decides whether or not to take this case.

But let's look at the judges who made this decision. Judges Jennifer Walker Elrod and Cory Wilson were the majority.

Judge James Ho dissented.

Elrod and Wilson called for restrictions like banning mail orders of the abortion pill, requiring a prescription, having 3 folo-up appts with a doc.

Ho wanted to go further.

This judge, Brantley Starr, is a classic Trump judge.

He's young (he was 39 when appointed in 2019).

He's a member of the very anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ, anti-voting rights Federalist Society.

He drew opposition from hundreds of national civil rights and human rights groups.

https://twitter.com/chrisgeidner/status/1688783851282214912

Starr's record before becoming a judge:

-Defended Trump’s Muslim ban
-Tried to nix protections for Dreamers
-Led Texas' efforts to restrict trans rights
-Misrepresented info to support the Texas AG's takeover of the criminalization/prosecution of abortion from local officials.

JUST IN: In a victory for progressives, the Senate has confirmed ACLU voting rights attorney Dale Ho to be a lifetime federal judge huffpost.com/entry/dale-ho-… Ho, one of the nation’s leading voting rights attorneys, squeaked through without any Republican support.

One Democrat voted against him, too: Joe Manchin.

That didn't take long.

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik is now fundraising off of the news of Trump being indicted (again). And, of course, if you click through to donate, the website *automatically* checks a box making your donation a monthly recurring donation.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who previously recommended judicial nominee William Pocan to Biden and then said he wouldn't support him after Biden nominated him and tanked his nomination, just announced he and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) have 2 new recs for that court seat. Johnson and Baldwin just officially recommended two people to the White House -- Byron Browning Conway and Marc Aaron Hammer -- for that vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Good morning! Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈

In related news, Kevin McCarthy spent yesterday hailing an author for reflecting "Americans’ fundamental values" -- and likely had no idea she was in a 40-yr rel with a woman and sometimes asked to be called "William." huffpost.com/entry/kevin-mc… "One of the country’s most beloved authors."

“Her work belongs here because it is American to the core. Her authenticity, emotion, artistry, it spoke of Americans’ fundamental values.”

This is McCarthy raving about Willa Cather, who got a statue in the Capitol yesterday.