Biden-nominated judge can’t define assault weapons in confirmation hearing

A Biden-nominated judge struggled to answer basic questions about assault weapons during a Wednesday Senate confirmation hearing.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Maldonado of the Northern District of Illinois faced some uncomfortable moments as President Biden’s pick for the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit when questioned about a brief she signed that defended Illinois state ban on “assault weapons” that was challenged in 2012.

Sen. John Kennedy during the hearing asked Judge Maldonado to define what she meant by “assault weapons.”

“You said, ’Assault weapons may be banned because they’re extraordinarily dangerous and are not appropriate for legitimate self-defense purposes.’ Tell me what you meant by ’assault weapons’?” the Louisiana Republican asked.

Judge Maldonado said she didn’t write the brief, that she was just local counsel and is not “a gun expert.”

The ban on semi-automatic assault weapons was upheld in Illinois.

“So you submitted a brief, an appellate brief, you signed it, and you don’t know what … and you said, ’Abolish assault weapons,’ and you don’t know what you wanted them to abolish?” Mr. Kennedy said.

The judge said she doesn’t “remember the exact definition of assault weapons.”

“I was not responsible for researching the content,” she said.

Mr. Kennedy responded by asking the nominee if she thought she deserved to be promoted.

“Senator, I stand by my record,” she said.

The government has faced increasing calls to ban semi-automatic firearms that are designed for rapid-fire shooting. The call comes as these firearms have been used in school shootings and other mass attacks.