The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Neomi Rao, President Trump’s regulatory czar, to succeed Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a powerful federal appeals court viewed as a springboard to the Supreme Court.
The 53-46 vote to put Rao on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit split Republicans and Democrats as expected, as many Democrats were upset with her academic writings.
Rao was scrutinized for op-eds she wrote while an undergraduate at Yale University about date rape and sexual assault. She also came under fire for arguing against a ban on dwarf-tossing.
In one writing from 1994, Rao wrote, “It has always seemed self-evident to me that even if I drank a lot, I would still be responsible for my actions. A man who rapes a drunk girl should be prosecuted. At the same time, a good way to avoid a potential date rape is to stay reasonably sober.”
During her confirmation hearing, Rao apologized for her college writings and told senators that upon rereading them, “I cringe at some of the language that I used.” She further clarified her views on sexual assault in a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, writing “sexual assault in all forms, including date rape, is abhorrent.”
Rao also got some early resistance from two Senate Republicans, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Joni Ernst of Iowa. Ernst was worried about her college writings, but Hawley was worried about her stance on abortion, although both voted for her Wednesday.
Four of the nine current justices Supreme Court justices served in the D.C. Court of Appeals. Rao is reportedly considered to be a possible contender for the Supreme Court should another vacancy open up. With her confirmation, she will be the first South Asian woman to serve on a federal appeals court.
Rao is now the 36th federal appeals court nominee confirmed since Trump took office. The Republican-controlled Senate has been approving the president’s judicial nominees, many of whom are young and likely will serve for decades, at an historic pace as part of Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal judiciary.
In addition to the record number of judges confirmed to the federal appeals courts at this point in a presidency, Trump has appointed two Supreme Court justices and 53 judges to the federal district courts.
Rao, 45, served as the chief of the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and has played a crucial role in implementing Trump’s regulatory agenda. Prior to joining the Trump administration, she worked as a professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School and clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.
