President Trump on Thursday nominated Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. to a seat on a federal appeals court, looking to give him a promotion just weeks after he won his district judgeship.
Mr. Trump first tapped Judge Quattlebaum last year to be a judge in South Carolina, and he was confirmed March 1 on a 69-28 vote. Now Mr. Trump wants him on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
He was one of nine judicial picks — three for appeals courts, five for district courts and one for the federal claims court — that the White House announced Thursday.
Julius “Jay” N. Richardson, who works for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, was also nominated to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Judge Richard J. Sullivan of the Southern District of New York, was nominated to the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.
The 4th Circuit used to be the most conservative appeals court in the country, but was almost completely reshaped by President Obama’s appointments. Mr. Trump’s two picks could begin to restore some balance.
Judge Quattlebaum sailed through his confirmation hearing last year, but faced significant — though not overwhelming — opposition from Senate Democrats in his vote last month.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said he couldn’t support the nominee, who is white, because he was taking a seat that two blacks had previously been nominated to by Mr. Obama, but never got votes in the Senate.
“The nomination of Marvin Quattlebaum speaks to the overall lack of diversity in President Trump’s selections for the federal judiciary,” Mr. Schumer said at the time. “It’s long past time that the judiciary starts looking a lot more like the America it represents.”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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