{"id":2476608,"date":"2025-08-20T08:57:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T12:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chris-coons-tears-over-judicial-nominations-are-pure-hypocrisy\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T08:59:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T12:59:10","slug":"chris-coons-tears-over-judicial-nominations-are-pure-hypocrisy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chris-coons-tears-over-judicial-nominations-are-pure-hypocrisy\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Coons\u2019 Tears Over Judicial Nominations Are Pure Hypocrisy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchris-coons-tears-over-judicial-nominations-are-pure-hypocrisy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2476608&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump has nominated law professor Jennifer Mascott to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Even though Mascott currently lives and works in the washington, D.C.,area,she is expected to be based in Delaware,which has drawn criticism from Delaware Senator Chris Coons. However, such concerns are considered unfounded and inconsistent, as it is common and legally permissible for appellate judges to be appointed to circuits associated with states where they have limited or no direct ties. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >article highlights precedents including nominations<\/a> by President Biden, such as Judge Julie Rikelman to the First Circuit (Massachusetts) and Ryan park to the Fourth Circuit (North Carolina), both of whom had minimal local connections. The author argues that Coons&#8217; opposition appears politically motivated and notes that he himself did not object to similar appointments under the Biden administration. The piece suggests Senate Republicans should dismiss Coons&#8217; complaints regarding Mascott&#8217;s nomination, emphasizing judicial appointments have frequently enough transcended strict state residency traditions.  <\/p>\n<div id=\"ld-4686-3758\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:14832835450050406,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-4686-3758\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>President Donald Trump recently nominated law professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.edu\/news-and-events\/2025\/07\/2025-0717-Mascott-nomination.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jennifer Mascott<\/a> to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Even though Mascott is currently a White House attorney and teaches at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., she will likely be based in Delaware. Democrats will complain that this is somehow inappropriate because Mascott doesn&rsquo;t currently live in Delaware, but this is a red herring. It&rsquo;s not unprecedented for a judicial nominee to be nominated to serve in a different state. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coons.senate.gov\/news\/press-releases\/senators-coons-blunt-rochester-statement-on-third-circuit-judicial-nominee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">complaints<\/a> from Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., should be dismissed as out of hand because he ignored such complaints under President Biden.<\/p>\n<p>Seats on the U.S. Courts of Appeals are linked to a given state by custom. While federal statute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/28\/44\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">requires<\/a> each state to have at least one circuit judge, beyond that, it varies. In fact, Delaware is overrepresented in the Third Circuit, so those complaining about Mascott should be thankful the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sherrod-brown-claims-gop-challenger-moreno-didnt-run-a-clean-race-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Sherrod Brown claims GOP challenger Moreno didn\u2019t run a \u2018clean\u2019 race - Washington Examiner\">seat wasn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t moved to New Jersey.<\/p>\n<p>Mascott is currently based in the D.C. area, but moving states for court seats is not without precedent. Some of the most well-regarded circuit judges were appointed to seats where they had minimal or no professional connections, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Chairman%20Graham%20Statement%20for%205.22.2019%20Nominations%20Hearing%20and%20Attachments%20%5bFINAL%5d.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">such as<\/a> the late Judge Robert Katzmann on the Second Circuit (N.Y.) and now-Justice Neil Gorsuch (Colo.). Judge Katzmann had the enthusiastic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/106\/chrg\/CHRG-106shrg62430\/CHRG-106shrg62430.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">support<\/a> of freshman Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the Biden administration provides a particularly strong precedent for Mascott. Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/06\/20\/senate-confirms-dobbs-lawyer-federal-judge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appointed<\/a> Judge Julie Rikelman to the First Circuit in Boston even though she had minimal professional connections to Massachusetts. At the time of her nomination, she was at the Center for Reproductive Rights in New York City. Before that, she was at NBC Universal and the law firm Simpson, Thatcher &amp; Bartlett &mdash; also in New York.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Rikelman somehow spent more time as an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Rikelman%20SJQ%20Public%20Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">attorney<\/a> in Alaska than in the state where she was a judge. Her Senate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Rikelman%20SJQ%20Public%20Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">questionnaire<\/a> was sure to note the various Massachusetts internships she had while a student at Harvard, though. These internships and her semester as a &ldquo;Standardized Test Instructor&rdquo; in Boston were apparently enough for the Massachusetts senators to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.warren.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/warren-markey-statement-on-julie-rikelmans-confirmation-to-us-court-of-appeals-for-the-first-circuit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">support<\/a> Rikelman.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most important Biden precedent is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/government\/biden-appellate-court-nominee-withdraws-following-us-senate-deal-2024-12-12\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ryan Park<\/a> &mdash; the failed nominee to the Fourth Circuit in North Carolina. While Park was the <a href=\"https:\/\/ncdoj.gov\/attorney-general-josh-stein-announces-transitions-in-solicitor-generals-office\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">incumbent<\/a> Solicitor General of North Carolina when nominated, his time in that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mi-lawmakers-just-made-it-easier-to-commit-election-fraud\/\" title=\"MI Lawmakers Simplify Process for Election Fraud\">attorney general&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s office seems to have been his only sustained exposure to the state.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While Rikelman had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/2021\/19-1392\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">argued<\/a> and lost the <em>Dobbs v. Jackson Women&rsquo;s Health Organization<\/em> abortion case at the Supreme Court, Park had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/2022\/21-707\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">argued<\/a> and lost the companion case to <em>Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard<\/em>. Park was best characterized as a D.C. lawyer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In part because of Park&rsquo;s sparse connections to North Carolina, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tillis.senate.gov\/2024\/7\/tillis-and-budd-joint-statement-on-4th-circuit-nomination\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opposed<\/a> him. He also claimed Park was a &ldquo;patently partisan&rdquo; nominee. Tillis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XR3DAkXGpuY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">waged<\/a> a systematic campaign against Park&rsquo;s nomination, apparently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/government\/republican-us-senator-warns-he-has-votes-block-biden-court-nominee-2024-11-14\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">calling<\/a> in chits from non-Republican allies like then-Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., to sink the nomination.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One possible cross-party ally who never materialized, though, was Coons. No matter how Tillis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/news\/politics-government\/national-politics\/article295606349.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">implored<\/a> his Democrat colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee to support his prerogatives and reject Park, the entreaties fell on deaf ears &mdash; including Coons&rsquo;.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, at the time, Coons surely knew about this vacancy in Delaware. Judge Kent Jordan had <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bloomberglaw.com\/us-law-week\/third-circuit-republican-appointee-jordan-plans-to-retire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> his planned 2025 retirement in May 2024, two months before Park was nominated. If Coons had wanted Republican help later in ensuring a Delaware nominee to his liking, he should have backed Tillis as he opposed Park in North Carolina. Coons did no such thing. In fact, he provided the necessary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/2024-11-14_-_ebm_-_results.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vote<\/a> to report Park to the Senate floor. Even though Park&rsquo;s nomination died in the Senate <a href=\"https:\/\/ncnewsline.com\/briefs\/fourth-circuit-nominee-ryan-park-no-senate-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">before<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alan-dershowitz-maxine-waters-comments-were-borrowed-from-the-playbook-of-the-ku-klux-klan\/\" title=\"Alan Dershowitz: Maxine Waters\u2019 Comments Were \u2018Borrowed\u2019 From The \u2018Playbook Of The Ku Klux Klan\u2019\">full floor vote<\/a>, Tillis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.charlotteobserver.com\/news\/politics-government\/article295572704.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warned<\/a> that he would remember how Democrats voted.<\/p>\n<p>All that is to say, Senate Republicans should ignore Coons&rsquo; complaints against the White House. When the shoe was on the other foot last Congress, Coons proved such concerns with state and location appointment didn&rsquo;t matter to him. To <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/floor-action\/senate\/191057-mcconnell-youll-regret-this\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">quote<\/a> Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.: Coons will regret his vote for Park &mdash; and he may regret it a lot sooner than he thinks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Michael A. Fragoso is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a partner at Torridon Law PLLC. He was previously chief counsel to Sen. Mitch McConnell and negotiated the Border Act of 2024.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump nominated Jennifer Mascott for Third Circuit Court<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3728,"featured_media":2476610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-5.48.56-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[34657,6636,47200,5894,3740],"class_list":["post-2476608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-chris-coons","tag-hypocrisy","tag-judicial-nominations","tag-politics","tag-senate"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-5.48.56-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3728"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2476608"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2476612,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476608\/revisions\/2476612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2476610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2476608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2476608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2476608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}