President Biden planned to nominate an anti-abortion conservative Republican to a lifetime appointment judgeship in Kentucky, according to emails obtained by CNN on Wednesday.
The White House informed Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s office in an email dated June 23 that Chad Meredith was “to be nominated tomorrow” to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The body of the email included a summary of Meredith’s resume, which was sent a day before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Though the White House has not confirmed Biden’s plan to select Meredith, CNN reports the nomination might be part of a potential deal with Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the chamber’s Republican leader.
Meredith has several ties to Sen. McConnell. He worked for Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a former McConnell staffer, and clerked for Amul Thapar, a federal appeals court judge McConnell has publicly supported.
Reports of President Biden’s potential nomination have sparked criticism from many Democrats and various pro-abortion and reproductive rights organizations.
“Chad Meredith should not be nominated to a lifetime judgeship. This is unacceptable at any time, but especially on the heels of six Supreme Court justices taking away a fundamental right from millions of people,” a group of organizations, including Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a joint press statement on Tuesday.
Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear also criticized President Biden in a recent news conference, stating: “If the President makes that nomination, it is indefensible.”
During a press briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre received multiple questions about President Biden’s plan to nominate Meredith. However, she asserted that the White House does not comment on judicial vacancies.
“We make it a point here to not comment on any vacancy, whether it is on the executive branch or judicial branch, especially [when] the nomination has not been made yet,” Jean-Pierre said during Tuesday’s briefing. “So I don’t have anything to say on that. It is something that we just don’t comment on.”
The Courier-Journal first reported on the emails between the White House and Gov. Beshear’s office. As of writing, Meredith has not been nominated yet.
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