Senate Confirms 36 Year Old Nominee To Fourth Circuit

Allison Rushing, 36, a partner at the law firm Williams & Connolly, has been confirmed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on a party-line vote, 53–44. Democrats said they were troubled by her lack of experience, and her conservative views and affiliations. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican who chaired the Judiciary Committee last year, scheduled Rushing’s hearing while the Senate was on recess just before the midterm election, when no committee Democrats were in town. In opposition to Rushing they cited her criticism of the Supreme Court decision striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and her affiliation with Alliance Defending Freedom, which has been called a hate group because of its opposition to same-sex marriage and legal protections for LGBT individuals. In 1991 the senate confirmed 37 year old Michael Luttig to the Fourth Circuit. He later resigned to become an executive at Boeing.