Senate Republicans on Thursday delayed a vote on one of President Trump’s judicial nominees after a determination that they don’t yet have to vote to confirm him.
The Senate was set to vote at noon on Thomas Farr, who was nominated by President Trump to serve on the federal bench in North Carolina’s Eastern District. But that vote was moved until some time next week.
Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are still deciding whether to support Farr, a former campaign lawyer for the late Sen. Jesse Helms who has been accused participating in a scheme to suppress black votes in the 1990s.
Republicans need both senators to support Farr, or he can’t be confirmed. The GOP has a 51-49 margin, and Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., has already said he’s voting against all of Trump’s judicial picks until the Senate votes on his bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller.
In addition, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., was attending a funeral Thursday and would not have been present for the planned vote on Farr.
Scott told reporters on Wednesday he is investigating a newly unearthed Justice Department memo that said Farr was involved decades ago in the sending of 120,000 postcards to mostly minority voters that appeared to discourage them from turning out at the polls.
Scott had not issued a statement on Thursday on Farr, but he said Wednesday he wanted to look into the allegations against him before voting.
Scott said then he had not found evidence that Farr was the architect of the postcard scheme, which was initiated in the 1990s by the campaign of then-Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., and the North Carolina Republican Committee. He also told Fox News that he heard from Obama administration character witnesses who stood up for Farr.
Farr served as a top campaign lawyer for Helms. Democrats oppose his nomination because they believe he will not support voting rights for minorities.
Scott’s vote is critical because Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he’ll vote against Farr, in part because he wants a vote on an unrelated bill that would prevent President Trump from firing special counsel Bob Mueller.
With a slim 51-49 majority and Flake’s opposition, Scott’s “no” vote would sink Farr’s nomination.
