20 Sep President Trump nominates pair of narrow-minded elitists for 9th Circuit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 20, 2019
Contact: Will Pregman, wpregman@battlebornprogress.org, 702.752.0656
President Trump nominates pair of narrow-minded elitists for 9th Circuit
LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Lawrence VanDyke and Patrick Bumatay for a lifetime seats on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. VanDyke serves as the current Solicitor General of Nevada and Bumatay is the Assistant United States Attorney in the California Attorney General’s office. With over 150 judges already confirmed, Trump’s nomination of this latest slate of judges further attempts to solidify conservative control of the judiciary.
Annette Magnus, Executive Director of Battle Born Progress, released the following statement:
“As is typical of most Trump judge picks, VanDyke has a publicly available rap sheet of troubling decisions and poor judgement that should concern every Nevadan who values the right to abortion, LGBTQ+ civil liberties, getting money and corruption out of politics, and more. His relationship with former Attorney General and failed Gubernatorial extremist Adam Laxalt should raise questions about his qualifications and fair-mindedness. He is the epitome of an out of touch carpetbagger and the definition of conservative welfare where mediocre men are empowered to fail up while the rest of the community suffers. In the case of Patrick Bumatay, we are alarmed at the nomination of someone who shilled extensively on behalf of both Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh during their confirmations to the Supreme Court.
We commend the work of Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Senator Jacky Rosen for forming a bipartisan commission to vet potential judicial nominees from Nevada. Unfortunately, the Trump administration is too preoccupied with stacking the courts with extreme, unqualified, and elitist judges to listen to what Nevadans have to say. We will work with both Senators in the coming days to investigate the full records of both VanDyke and Bumatay to ensure Nevadans’ concerns are heard.”
About Lawrence VanDyke:
As Montana’s Solicitor General, VanDyke advocated for the overturn of Roe v. Wade in an amicus brief he co-wrote to support a 20-week abortion ban in Arizona, and recommended that his Attoreny General also file a brief defending a photographer who refused business to a lesbian couple in New Mexico. He has also been a loyal foot-soldier for the gun lobby, filing multiple briefs fighting against gun violence prevention legislation across the country.
When VanDyke ran for Montana’s State Supreme Court, his campaign benefited from sizable dark money spending from the Koch Brothers. This papered over his lack of qualifications and experience for the job, in which he benefited from a very narrow, “creative” ruling that allowed him on the ballot in the first place. It should come as no surprise that Vandyke is a supporter of the controversial Citizens United ruling which opened the floodgates for excessive outside spending in political campaigns.
Finally, as Solicitor General for Nevada, VanDyke was given special permission to practice law in here, despite never passing the State Bar, due to his relationship with his good friend, former Attorney General Adam Laxalt. Laxalt is no stranger to calling in extralegal favors for his friends who are in a bind, which casts a shadow on VanDyke, given the company he keeps.
SPOKESPEOPLE ARE AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH
###
About Battle Born Progress: BBP, through strategic communication efforts, empowers, engages and mobilizes Nevada voters to build a state where everyone has a fair opportunity to succeed.