Senate Judiciary vote delayed on Biden judicial nom criticized as 'wildly unqualified'

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Sen. John Kennedy grills Biden judicial nominees on the Constitution, originalism

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asked four Biden judicial nominees a series of questions on the Constitution and constitutional interpretation during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee was supposed to vote Thursday on Charnelle Bjelkengren, President Biden's nominee for U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of Washington, only for this and other nominations to be held off until the committee's next business meeting.

Bjelkengren's nomination drew controversy when she had a difficult time at her confirmation hearing, which included a viral moment where Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asked her basic questions about the Constitution.

"Tell me what Article V of the Constitution does," Kennedy prompted.

"Article V is not coming to mind at the moment," Bjelkengren responded.

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"How about Article II?" Kennedy said.

"Neither is Article II," Bjelkengren said.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, recalled the incident at a recent Judiciary Committee meeting, calling Bjelkengren "wildly unqualified."

In addition to whiffing on the constitutional questions, Bjelkengren's work history has also raised flags.

On her Senate Judiciary questionnaire for her nomination, Bjelkengren was asked to provide details about the "10 most significant litigated matters which you handled." Bjelkengren listed six, including one case in which she lost to someone on appeal who was representing herself. 

"At no stage of her professional career has this judge focused on federal law. At no point has she ever even appeared in federal court," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor. "Is this the caliber of legal expert with which President Biden is filling the federal bench? For lifetime appointments? Is the bar for merit and excellence really set this low?"

Cruz cited Bjelkengren's nomination as one of several examples of what he felt were poor selections by the president, and he called on Democrats to do something about it.

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"I would ask this committee, is there anyone — if the White House nominates a ham sandwich, are the Democrats prepared to rubber stamp Judge Ham Sandwich?" Cruz asked, noting that every Democrat had voted in favor of every Biden judicial nominee.

"I just want to close with this, which is urging my colleagues to be willing to stand up to the White House," Cruz said. "I'm confident that many, if not most of you, actually care about having a qualified judiciary."

Holding over votes on nominations is a common occurrence, and the committee is now expected to vote on Bjelkengren next week. Should they vote to advance her nomination, the full Senate would then vote on confirming her as a federal judge.

The American Bar Association did not share Republicans' concerns about Bjelkengren, rating her as "Qualified" – its second of three possible ratings, between "Not Qualified" and "Well Qualified."

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When asked by Fox News Digital following her hearing if Biden was sticking by Bjelkengren's nomination, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said, "Proudly."

In contrast, when Matthew Petersen was nominated for a federal judge position by then-President Trump in 2017, only to have his own problems when grilled by Kennedy on basic legal issues, Peterson withdrew himself from consideration.

Fox News' Aaron Kliegman and Houston Keene contributed to this report.