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Thomas Farr Nomination Likely Sunk After Tim Scott Announces Opposition

Senate had delayed confirmation vote until next week

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., announced his opposition to Thomas Farr’s nomination. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., announced his opposition to Thomas Farr’s nomination. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Sen. Tim Scott has announced his opposition to the nomination of Thomas Farr to a federal judgeship in North Carolina, potentially dooming his confirmation.

“I am ready and willing to support strong candidates for our judicial vacancies that do not have lingering concerns about issues that could affect their decision-making process as a federal judge,” Scott said in a statement reported by The State newspaper. “This week, a Department of Justice memo written under President George H.W. Bush was released that shed new light on Mr. Farr’s activities. This, in turn, created more concerns. Weighing these important factors, this afternoon I concluded that I could not support Mr. Farr’s nomination.”

Farr’s nomination was perhaps the most contentious lower-level judicial nomination of all of 2018, thanks to a number of concerns about his views and record on race-related issues.

All members of the Senate Democratic caucus have announced opposition to Farr, meaning that he cannot be confirmed given that Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona has already signaled that he will be against Farr regardless of whether or not the Senate votes on legislation designed to shield Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

Earlier in the day, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, secured a unanimous consent agreement that delayed the final confirmation vote on Farr until next week. The cause of that was a family emergency that led Oklahoma GOP Sen. James M. Inhofe to be unavailable.

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