Senate Republicans have confirmed a Donald Trump-appointed judge who once compared abortion to slavery, calling them "the two greatest tragedies in our country".
The confirmation of John Bush to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a huge blow to civil rights groups who had spoken out against the nominee's history of making extreme comments. They pointed to the 52-year-old's political blog posts, written under the pseudonym "G Morris", as proof that he lacked the objectivity needed to serve on the bench.
"It is a sad day for the Senate and the American people when an individual like John Bush can be confirmed for a lifetime position on the federal bench," Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement. "Few nominees in history have had such a clear record of extreme and intemperate remarks. Federal judges must be impartial and fair – two qualities that Mr Bush clearly lacks."
In his blog posts, the Kentucky lawyer complained when the State Department updated passport forms to reflect same-sex parents, mocked climate change and celebrated "the witch is dead" when he thought the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, might not be enacted.
During his confirmation hearing, Mr Bush said there were comments in his posts he wished he hadn't made, and vowed to treat all litigants who would come before him in court fairly.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced Mr Bush in June as someone with "a strong legal ability and a thoughtful demeanor". But Republican Senator John Kennedy told Mr Bush at his confirmation hearing that he was "not impressed."
However, Mr Kennedy ultimately ended up supporting Mr Bush in 51-47 vote along party lines, demonstrating that it will be difficult for Democrats to prevent the confirmations of Mr Trump's conservative judicial appointees to fill the 100-plus federal court vacancies across the country.
