- North Carolina's senior senator criticized the Biden administration this week for proceeding with a nomination to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals despite the fact that the nominee does not have enough votes to win confirmation.
- Sen. Thom Tillis offered the criticism near the beginning of a Capitol Hill hearing for Ryan Park, who now serves as North Carolina's solicitor general.
- Tillis played a video in which Park describes himself as progressive and touts his willingness to work for his "boss," Attorney General Josh Stein. Stein is the Democratic nominee for governor in North Carolina's November election.
North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park’s prospects for joining the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals remain unclear, after the state’s senior US senator declared this week that he has enough votes to block the nomination.
Park appeared Wednesday on Capitol Hill before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Before senators started questioning Park, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, criticized the Biden administration for proceeding with Park’s nomination.
“My concern is that on April 17, at 6:03 p.m., we informed the White House that I had secured support among Democrats and every single Republican to block his nomination on the floor,” Tillis said. “For 2 ½ months, the White House has been aware of this. I said in the closing comments of that email I would hate to put someone through that knowing that I have secured support on the floor to block his nomination.”
“What is the White House thinking?” Tillis asked.
“I am ashamed to be in this position, and shame on the White House for putting Mr. Park in this position,” he added.
Tillis then played a video with clips tying Park to his boss, state Attorney General Josh Stein. Stein is the Democratic nominee for governor in North Carolina’s November election. Park describes himself in the video as “progressive.” He discusses his enthusiasm working for Stein.
Before Park responded to Tillis’ video, Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, explained why he and fellow Democrats were not allowing Tillis and fellow Republican North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd to block Park’s nomination.
Senate Republicans “abandoned” tradition during Donald Trump’s administration to hold hearings on 18 federal Appeals Court nominees despite objections from home-state Democratic senators, Durbin said.
“I objected at the time. So did many of my colleagues,” he said. “We repeatedly warned Republicans they were establishing new ground rules.”
“There cannot be one set of rules for Republican nominees and another for Democratic nominees,” Durbin added.
“When I was describing myself as a progressive, … I wasn’t using the term in the partisan or political sense,” Park said in addressing Tillis’ video. “In fact, later on in that panel, … I said explicitly that I think politics through lawsuits is illegitimate.”
“What I said I think is legitimate is when attorneys general come together to protect people,” Park added.
Park cited examples of bipartisan groups of attorneys general battling the opioid crisis and blocking offshore drilling off the Atlantic coast.
“I’m actually pretty unique among state solicitors general in that I have never led a partisan multistate lawsuit or partisan amicus brief, where it was Democratic attorneys general on one side and Republican attorneys general on the other side,” he said.
The 4th Circuit nominee also touted his work representing Republican state legislative leaders in court. “I have never declined a request to represent a state official or agency when it’s been made to me,” Park said. “I am now currently representing numerous Republican elected officials, including the state’s legislative leaders, in cases.”
“I have always been happy and enthusiastic to defend statutes that have been passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly in my state and to effectuate policies made by Republican statewide officials,” he added.
Of the four petitions Park has filed with the US Supreme Court, two defended legislation approved by the General Assembly “that my boss, Attorney General Stein, voted against when he was in the state Senate.” A third petition took the same legal position as the state Supreme Court’s current chief justice, Republican Paul Newby.
It’s not clear when the Senate Judiciary Committee plans to take further action on Park’s nomination.