Judicial Nominations

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) slammed President Biden’s U.S. Sentencing Commission nominee Laura Mate for refusing to explain her opposition to mandatory minimums for child porn offenders in all cases, following a 2013 letter she signed in which she argued that the child pornography guidelines were too severe and called for mandatory minimums for offenders to be abolished.

“You don’t want to answer my questions, because the positions that you took were radical, and frankly, I think, wrong,” ...

"History has been made with the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court. She is the most openly pro-life Supreme Court nominee to be confirmed in my lifetime. Despite being the subject of vicious attacks by the left for years, she refused to give in to the unconstitutional religious tests that Democrats sought to impose against her. This religious bigotry failed and must never be repeated. Judge Barrett is a stellar intellect and a fair and impartial jurist. With...

“The nomination of Amy Coney Barrett is truly historic. This is the most openly pro-life judicial nominee to the Supreme Court in my lifetime. This is an individual who has been open in her criticism of that illegitimate decision Roe v. Wade. This is a nominee who has been open about her faith and her faith commitments and the way she and her husband live their lives immersed in their Catholic faith and raise their children in their Catholic faith and want others to have the freedom to be able...

"I enjoyed meeting with Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett today to discuss her judicial philosophy. She’s a pro-Constitution conservative with an outstanding record. I urge all of my Democrat colleagues to publicly reject attacks on her faith and abstain from anti-Catholic, anti-Christian vitriol in the hearings to come. President Trump made a strong pick and I look forward to hearing more from her during the confirmation process in our committee."

Following President Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling on every member of the Democratic Caucus to publicly reject attacks on Judge Barrett’s Christian faith and abstain from anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, anti-faith vitriol in the hearings to come.

“Sarah’s strong legal experience, sharp intellect, and commitment to the rule of law make her an outstanding choice for the Eastern District. I was proud to recommend her to President Trump, and I am confident that she will serve the people of Missouri as a principled and fair judge for decades to come.”

“Congratulations to Steve Clark on his confirmation to the federal bench in St. Louis," Senator Hawley said. "I will always fight for principled, constitutionalist judges for our federal judiciary.”

“I am committed to thoroughly vetting every judicial nominee who comes before the Senate Judiciary Committee, especially appellate nominees. That means asking nominees tough questions about how they will interpret the Constitution, how they think about precedent, and how they view the role of a judge. That’s my job as a Senator. I won’t apologize for doing it. There are some in this town who say ‘trust us,’ but past experience has shown that conservatives have been burned by that approach."

Today Senator Josh Hawley sent a letter to Neomi Rao outlining his questions about her judicial philosophy and approach to constitutional law. Senator Hawley has additional questions about Rao’s views on substantive due process – the doctrine that activist judges often rely on to justify making policy from the bench.