Senate seals razor-thin victory, pushing Trump’s controversial judge over the finish line!
Senate Pulls It Off with a Crucial 49 - 46 Vote — Lawmakers Have Just Approved President Donald Trump's Judicial Nominee To 6th Circuit
President Trump has faced repeated legal setbacks in trying to implement his agenda, thanks to left-wing federal judges appointed by Joe Biden and other Democratic presidents.
In most of those cases, the judges appear to be making decisions based on their political opposition to the president and his agenda, as many of their rulings have been overturned.
But that said, Trump has been—with the GOP-controlled Senate’s help—steadily filling judicial vacancies on federal benches throughout his second term, and the chamber confirmed another nominee largely along party-line votes on Wednesday.
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Benjamin Flowers to a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by a 49-46 vote, elevating the former Ohio solicitor general to the federal bench despite Democratic objections over his record and his refusal to state who won the 2020 presidential election.
Flowers, an attorney from Upper Arlington and a partner at Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers LLC, will fill the vacancy left by Judge Jeffrey Sutton. President Trump nominated him to serve on the Sixth Circuit, which hears cases from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
During Flowers’ May 20 confirmation hearing, Democratic senators questioned him about issues that President Donald Trump has disputed and criticized what they described as his evasive responses.
When Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked Flowers to identify the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Flowers replied that “legally speaking, Joe Biden was certified” before Blumenthal interrupted him.
Because Democrats have turned all hearings involving Trump nominees into political theater and circuses, Blumenthal—who lied about serving in Vietnam—claimed that Flowers’ answers sounded “rehearsed.”
“Above all, a federal judge must be independent, without fear or favor, and your fear, apparently, of Donald Trump, is so much that you practiced with the White House before you came here and rehearsed this answer, and are repeating by rote what you’ve been told to say,” Blumenthal said, calling that conduct disqualifying – as though he was ever going to support Flowers to begin with.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, defended Flowers against the criticism, arguing that Democrats were applying a double standard.
Grassley pointed to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing, during which she said, “It would be inappropriate for me to publicly weigh in to any subject of political debate.”
In addition, speaking of disqualifying, Jackson refused on several occasions to define a woman.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, also cited the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, arguing that the same ethical standards apply to both judicial nominees and sitting judges.
A graduate of Ohio State University and the University of Chicago Law School, Flowers clerked for Ninth Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta before serving as a law clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia.
He later spent several years at Jones Day and, as Ohio’s 10th solicitor general, argued three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including the successful challenge to OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“Flowers resembles most of Trump 2.0’s appellate nominees, whom Mike Davis, the Leader of the Article 3 Project and a Trump judicial selection consigliere, characterizes as battle-hardened,” University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias told
“However, Flowers also resembles many Trump 1.0 appellate nominees, who are ideologically conservative, active members of the Federalist Society, and practiced at large national firms,” he added.
During his tenure as Ohio's 10th Solicitor General, Flowers established significant constitutional credentials, arguing three separate cases before the U.S. Supreme Court—most notably securing the landmark legal block that dismantled the federal OSHA emergency temporary standard regarding workplace vaccine mandates.
Legal observers note that Flowers represents the primary archetype of the administration's updated appellate strategy, which favors younger, ideologically consistent lawyers possessing extensive experience handling high-threshold state-level defense challenges.
REPRODUCTIVE STATUTES AND MIDTERM ENFORCEMENT NETWORKS
Beyond national electoral issues, opposition caucuses extensively cross-examined Flowers regarding his historical defense of Ohio public health and abortion regulations. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) directed intense focus toward Flowers' representation of the state's six-week gestational limits, referencing prominent regional cases to challenge his judicial temperament.
Flowers maintained a strict professional baseline throughout the interrogation, noting that any child or victim of assault suffers profound, irreparable harm, while underscoring that his statutory duty as solicitor general was to defend current state laws as enacted by the legislature.
With the Senate majority continuing its rapid tempo to process judicial confirmations ahead of the upcoming autumn midterm campaigns, the successful seating of Benjamin Flowers cews a critical operational vacancy—ensuring that the jurisprudence governing labor, commerce, and individual liberty across four major states remains firmly anchored in a strict interpretation of the Constitution.
How Would You Feel About Ilhan Omar Being Deported?
A prominent progressive senator is distancing his political movement from several positions that have become liabilities for Democrats in recent elections.
His comments prompted questions for one of Congress’ best-known progressive lawmakers, who was pressed on whether activists and candidates associated with the movement had actually embraced the policies he was dismissing.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., responded Friday after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said that “no serious person” running for office supports defunding the police, despite the issue’s prominent role in progressive politics following the 2020 death of George Floyd.
Sanders made the comments during an Aug. 5 appearance on the “Pod Save America” podcast with former Obama administration speechwriter Jon Favreau.
Favreau asked Sanders about Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates who have supported policies including abolishing prisons, defunding or abolishing police departments and eliminating national borders.
“No serious person that I know who is running for office believes in, quote unquote, defunding the police,” Sanders responded.
Sanders acknowledged problems within some law enforcement agencies while arguing that police officers continue to perform a necessary and difficult job.
“We need to get rid of racism” in police departments, Sanders said while discussing reforms he believes are necessary.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins subsequently confronted Omar about Sanders’ characterization and asked whether the Vermont senator was correct that no serious candidates were advocating defunding the police.
Omar pointed to Minneapolis and the political environment following Floyd’s death while explaining why the issue became particularly important in her community.
“For us in Minneapolis, with the murder of George Floyd, we had to have a deeper conversation about what really it looked like for us to address public safety here,” Omar said.
“We had a police department that was essentially problematic,” she continued.
Omar argued that the discussion changed once the Minneapolis debate became a national political issue.
“And when that conversation becomes nationalized, then you sort of get the kind of messaging that gets sort of lost in the void,” she said.
“Minneapolis has come a long way. We still have a long way to go. And I think that is sort of what Bernie was speaking to,” Omar added.
Collins pressed Omar specifically on Sanders’ assertion that “no serious person” running for office supported defunding police departments.
“I mean, when he says that, I think he’s talking about someone putting forth a piece of legislation,” Omar responded.
“And to that regard, I would say that he is right,” she continued. “I haven’t seen any pieces of legislation or ordinances come through in the United States since 2020.”
The exchange comes as DSA-backed candidates have scored victories in several Democratic primaries, bringing renewed scrutiny to some of the organization’s more controversial positions.
DSA national co-chair Megan Romer defended the organization’s support for abolishing institutions including the Senate and Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a Fox News appearance last month.
Sanders, who identifies as a democratic socialist but is not a member of the Democratic Party, also rejected several other positions associated with elements of the socialist movement during his conversation with Favreau.
Asked about abolishing prisons, Sanders said he wants the United States to incarcerate fewer people but rejected eliminating imprisonment for dangerous criminals.
“I hope the day comes when we don’t lead the world in the number of people who are in custody,” Sanders said. “That speaks very poorly of our society.”
“But does that mean that there should not be dangerous people who should be behind bars? Of course, everybody agrees with that,” he added.
Sanders was equally direct when discussing immigration and the idea of eliminating borders.
“Open borders? No,” Sanders said. “We all, most of us, believe in comprehensive immigration reform, not opening up all the borders.”
Sanders argued that conservatives amplify the most controversial proposals associated with the political left, but maintained that “most serious candidates” do not embrace those positions.
