Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley told President Trump to “reconsider” two of his judicial nominees.
The Iowa Republican “advised the White House they ought to reconsider” the nominations of Jeff Mateer and Brett Talley, according to CNN.
“I’ve advised the White House they ought to reconsider,” Grassley said as he left a committee hearing. “I would advise the White House not to proceed.”
The Senate has moved swiftly to seat Trump’s federal judicial nominees, to the approval of conservatives. Talley has already been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Mateer’s nomination is still awaiting committee approval.
Mateer has been nominated to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and has come under fire for speeches in 2013 and 2014 in which he invoked the Nazis, as well as a pair of speeches in 2015 in which he said transgender children are part of “Satan’s plan.”
Talley, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, has reportedly never tried a case. He also failed to disclose on publicly available congressional documents that he is married to the chief of staff to White House Counsel Donald McGahn.
In a statement, Alliance for Justice, a progress liberal advocacy group, said it agreed with Grassley.
“This is welcome news,” said group president Nan Aron in a statement. “We believe this is an opportunity for a real turning point, if the White House uses this moment to reassess its criteria for judicial nominations and to put forward nominees who will be serious about upholding critical legal rights and protections for all.”
During the White House press briefing, press secretary Sarah Sanders did not say if Trump and Grassley have spoken about the request.
