Senate confirms Neomi Rao will replace Brett Kavanaugh at the Court of Appeal



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The US Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Neomi Rao, President Trump's candidate in place of Brett M. Kavanaugh, before a key appeals court, bringing the president closer to his goal of firmly marking the federal judiciary.

Ms. Rao, Administrator of the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, was confirmed by a vote of 53 to 46 for a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the United States. Columbia District Circuit, a frequent stepping stone to the Supreme Court. .

A former law professor and Clerk of Judge Clarence Thomas, Ms. Rao was seen as an ally in the president's push for deregulation and was supported by the powerful Conservative legal group, the Federalist Society.

South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, paid tribute to Ms. Rao for applying earlier this month.

"She is an expert in administrative law and has a sound and conservative judicial philosophy that one could expect from a Republican candidate for such an important position," he said. "I look forward to supporting his candidacy in the Senate."

Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the Judiciary Committee's highest democracy, has referred Ms. Rao's case to the regulatory office as "troubling and aggressive" regulations.

Ms. Rao had also been examined for her views and writings on rape and abortion at a given date.

At her confirmation hearing last month, she was asked about opinion tests she had written at the undergraduate level in Yale in the early 1990s. she suggested that women could avoid rape with dates by remaining sober. In In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee after the hearing, she lamented "the insensitivity demonstrated in my remarks about rape and sexual assault".

"I have not been able to recognize the harm my words could cause to a survivor of such crimes," she wrote. "I now recognize that the arguments I've presented could discourage a victim from being heard or asking for help."

Despite Ms. Rao's letter, Ms. Feinstein said that "her record shows that these opinions seem to persist," underscoring her role in the promulgation of controversial texts. new rules on sexual assault on campus while working for the White House.

Republicans had raised questions about Ms. Rao's views on abortion, revealing tensions within the Republican Party between social conservatives and those who focused more on further deregulation. Although her written record is limited, some suspected that she did not oppose abortion, citing, for example, cases in which she had used the term "anti-abortion" rather than "abortion" rather than "abortion". "pro-life."

Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a newly elected Republican sitting on the Judiciary Committee, had expressed strong concerns, but eventually voted in favor of Ms. Rao's appointment. Kelli Ford, spokesman for Mr Hawley, said he had met with Ms Rao twice before the vote for an in-depth debate on her views on legal issues.

In addition to Judge Kavanaugh, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Judge Thomas also served on the District of Columbia circuit.

Trump has now held 20% of the country's court of appeal judges, at a pace well above that of his predecessors.

When Mr. Trump proposed Ms. Rao's candidacy, he highlighted his experience as a professor and founder of the State Administrative Studies Study Center of Antonin Scalia Law School at the University. George Mason. She has also worked in all three branches of government, advising President George W. Bush and the Senate Judiciary Committee, in addition to internships.

Ms. Rao also worked in the London law firm Clifford Chance, specializing in international law and commercial arbitration.

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