Brett Talley, the deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, may soon land a lifelong appointment on the federal bench without ever litigating a case in court.
President Donald Trump nominated the 36-year-old Alabama lawyer for a federal district judge seat despite his lack of experience in the courtroom.
Although Talley graduated from Harvard Law School and spent four years as a law clerk, he was one of four judicial nominees to receive a “Not Qualified” rating from the American Bar Association. Yet despite his lack of training, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Talley’s nomination on Thursday and sent it to the Senate for a full vote.
What Talley lacks in experience, however, he makes up for in his support of the president. He also has a quality Trump prides above all else: loyalty. In fact, Talley has posted multiple tweets denouncing former presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and supporting Trump, the Washington Post reported.
“The worst part of #NeverTrump is that they are helping Hillary win the election. Their self-righteousness while doing it is a close second,” one tweet read.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called these tweets, along with Talley’s previous blogging in support of the National Rifle Association, a concern.
Feinstein said she asked during the committee hearing if Talley would commit to recusing himself “from cases involving the NRA or where the NRA had taken a position.”
He didn’t commit to doing so.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story mistakenly attributed to Sen. Dianne Feinstein a question that Sen. Dick Durbin asked Talley in a post-hearing questionnaire.