He’s just 37 and has been a federal judge in Kentucky for just six months.
But already, Justin Walker appears to be headed for bigger things.
After a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Walker seems “all but certain” to be confirmed to a lifetime position on the second-highest court in the land — the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit — thanks in large part to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), reports National Public Radio.
“McConnell has put extensive time, effort and political capital into reshaping the federal judiciary by filling its ranks with young, conservative judges. Walker embodies that strategy,” NPR says.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Democrats portrayed Walker as too inexperienced to serve on a federal appeals court.
They also pointed to his defense of Justice Brett Kavanaugh during Kavanaugh’s contentious confirmation process, as well as his criticism of a Supreme Court decision that upheld the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
Walker retorted that the high court’s ACA decision is now a binding legal precedent, saying that a good judge “has a responsibility to go where the law leads, where the Constitution leads. That’s what I’ve done as a district court judge and I’ve done it without any policy considerations.”
McConnell, the Senate majority leader, has praised Walker as “a brilliant legal expert” and noted that the American Bar Association rated him “well qualified” for the appeals court.
That was a turnaround from last fall, when Walker was confirmed for the judgeship he currently holds even though the ABA rated him “not qualified.”
“The DC appeals court is considered a breeding ground for future Supreme Court justices,” says CNN. “Chief Justice John Roberts served there as well as Justices Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Kavanaugh.”
Walker formerly clerked for now-retired Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, and for Kavanaugh when Kavanaugh was a judge on the D.C. Circuit.
