12. Op-Ed: Robert Luther: Joe Manchin’s broken promise on judicial nominations
Sen. Joe Manchin (I., W.Va.) presents himself as a man who keeps his word. We will soon find out whether that is true. For now, there is cause for doubt.
As Associate Counsel to the President in the Trump White House, my job was to help select judicial nominees who were committed constitutionalists. During that period, Manchin had a reputation as a pragmatist who would break party lines and vote to confirm solid judges who would uphold the Constitution.
Earlier this year, Manchin’s pragmatism returned. After voting for nearly all of Biden’s judicial nominees, Manchin expressed frustration with their highly partisan backgrounds and vowed to ensure the Democrat-controlled Senate didn’t become a rubber stamp. So Manchin drew a sensible line in the sand and promised not to vote for any judicial nominee lacking bipartisan support.