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WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke against the nomination of Katie Lane, President Trump’s nominee to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana and the first judicial nominee to receive a “Not Qualified” rating from the American Bar Association (ABA) during Trump’s second term.
“There are more than 3,000 licensed attorneys in the state of Montana. You would believe that the White House, in finding a federal judge for a lifetime appointment, would be able to find one among those with experience. Instead, President Trump has selected Ms. Lane. Ms. Lane is not remotely qualified to serve as a district court judge in the federal system. That is not my opinion—that is the official finding by the American Bar Association,” said Durbin.
The ABA found that Lane had failed to gain “substantial courtroom and trial experience in the less than nine years since she was admitted to the bar,” noting that she “never tried a case as lead counsel, whether civil or criminal” and “never conducted a direct examination, picked a jury, or offered an opening statement or a closing argument.”
“Not only has Ms. Lane’s legal career been extremely brief, but it has also been extremely partisan. Ms. Lane currently works at the Republican National Committee, which President Trump highlighted when he announced her nomination. She may not have courtroom experience, but she has experience at the MAGA think tank… But even before she went to work for the RNC, Ms. Lane repeatedly chose to litigate politically charged issues and worked to limit women’s rights, voting rights, and the rights of LGBTQ Americans,” continued Durbin.
“Ms. Lane is not the person for this job. She’s too ideological and too inexperienced for the role to which she has been nominated. I urge my colleagues oppose her nomination,” concluded Durbin.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
