The Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced a judicial nominee plucked from President Donald Trump’s personal legal team.
Justin Smith won the panel’s support Thursday by a 12-10, party-line vote, after Democrats raised concerns about his refusal to answer questions about which candidate won the popular vote in the 2020 presidential election and whether Trump supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“If you can’t even acknowledge that happened,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committee’s top Democrat, referring to the Jan. 6 riot, “what the hell good are you?”
He noted that the vote on Smith came during National Police Week. One police officer died of a stroke following the riot at the Capitol. Four officers who responded to the attack later died by suicide.
