“The Senate vote to confirm Steven Grasz to a lifetime seat on the US Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit defies the normal order of business for consideration of federal judges. His confirmation is part of a campaign by the Senate Majority and the Trump administration to stuff the federal bench with as many far right judicial nominees as they can muster, without regard to the norms of the Senate over many decades that allow senators and the general public to weigh in on nominees through the committee process and provide a reasonable opportunity for the public to have input through that process.

“Grasz was rated unqualified for the federal bench in a rare rebuke by the American Bar Association. He has dedicated his career to thwarting the rights of women and LGBTQ people, opposing abortion rights and marriage equality, both as Nebraska’s deputy attorney general and in private practice. His lack of judicial experience combined with his partisan background working for the Nebraska Republican Party and for Republican candidates undermines faith that he would serve impartially or competently as a federal appeals court judge.

“Grasz is a prime example of the drive by the Trump administration to obtain confirmation of right-wing judges at all costs, and at a pace unprecedented in recent years. Through Benchmark: NCJW’s Judicial Nominations Campaign, we will continue to mobilize opposition to unqualified, partisan, and extremist federal judicial nominees to sit on the federal bench.”