Any nominee chosen by President Trump to replace the D.C. Circuit Court seat vacated by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was bound to come under fire. But, as both a Republican firebrand and a woman of color, Neomi Rao has found herself in the midst of a nasty confirmation hearing rehashing a key remnant of the anti-Kavanaugh crusade: sexual assault.
All discussion of Rao’s past should be preceded with the fact that the American Bar Association, no friend to conservative jurisprudence, issued their top “well qualified” rating to Rao. Like Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, Rao has never been a judge before. And also like Kagan, Rao has ample legal experience as a Supreme Court clerk, law school professor, White House counsel, and top official in an executive branch office or department; Kagan served as solicitor general of the United States, and Rao currently runs the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
