COURTS/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate voted Wednesday [3-13-19] to confirm Neomi Rao, a judicial nominee who faced intense opposition over her writings in college, to take now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s vacant seat on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. The vote was 53-46, with all Republicans supporting her nomination and all voting Democrats against confirming Rao. Rao — who serves as Trump’s ‘czar’ overseeing regulatory rollbacks — faced fierce questioning not just for her work in the Trump administration but for commentary she wrote decades ago as a Yale University student suggesting women should change their behavior to avoid date rape. Even some Republicans expressed reservations about her nomination earlier in the process, and Rao apologized last month for her previous writing.”
–Ariane de Vogue and Ted Barrett, “Senate confirms Neomi Rao, controversial judicial nominee, to fill Brett Kavanaugh’s former seat,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, March 13, 2019 3:07 pm