Biden to nominate anti-abortion attorney to federal judgeship

The Biden administration is planning to move forward with nominating anti-abortion attorney Chad Meredith for a federal judgeship.

The nomination, which appears to be part of a deal President Biden struck with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), was originally scheduled for June 24 — the day the Supreme Court announced its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

The Biden administration reportedly told Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on June 23 that it planned to nominate Meredith to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky the following day, but the nomination was postponed when the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade (1973) and return the issue of abortion to the states.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Washington Post reported last week that "Biden and his team" were "caught off guard" by "the timing" of the decision despite the fact that a draft of the opinion had leaked almost two months earlier.

The White House went silent on Meredith's nomination after the Dobbs decision dropped, but HuffPost reported Tuesday that "behind the scenes," the administration "is apparently signaling" that the nomination will go froward.

In response, eight national abortion rights groups issued a joint statement calling Meredith's nomination "unacceptable at any time, but especially on the heels of six Supreme Court justices taking away a fundamental right from millions of people."