Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina announced today that he would vote against Thomas Farr, President Trump’s nominee to serve as a district judge in North Carolina.
The decision likely dooms the prospects of Farr filling the nation’s longest court vacancy.
Civil rights groups such as the NAACP have heavily criticized Farr for his work defending state laws found to have discriminated against African-Americans.
Farr joins Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and 49 Democratic lawmakers in opposing the nominee.
GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) both indicated to reporters that they were on the fence about Farr, suggesting his nomination could have faced further trouble among Senate Republicans.
Farr’s nomination drew intense opposition from Democrats and their outside group allies, who warn that, if confirmed, he’ll use his position as a federal judge to rule against minorities.
Scott, the Senate’s only black Republican, pointed to a 1990s Justice Department investigation into Jesse Helm’s Senate campaign for mailing postcards to more than 120,000 North Carolinians, most of whom were black voters, suggesting they were ineligible to vote and could be prosecuted for voter fraud.
The Washington Post published a memo this week that outlined the Justice Department’s case. Scott cited the memo as influential to his decision to oppose Farr.
“This week, a Department of Justice memo written under President George H.W. Bush was released that shed new light on Mr. Farr’s activities. This, in turn, created more concerns,” Scott said in a statement.
He added that he is “ready and willing to support strong candidates for our judicial vacancies that do not have lingering concerns about issues that could affect their decision-making process as a federal judge, and I am proud that Senate Republicans have confirmed judges at a historical rate over the past two years.”
Farr — in response to questions from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee — said he did was not involved in crafting the postcards.
“The Senate does not have the votes to confirm Farr, and hopefully it never will,” said Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP. “He should never be confirmed.”