WASHINGTON _ The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee called on the president Tuesday to drop the nomination of Jeff Mateer, a top lawyer for the state of Texas who has described transgender children as evidence of "Satan's plan."
"I've advised the White House they ought to reconsider," Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, told CNN Tuesday. "I would advise the White House not to proceed."
That makes Grassley the first Republican senator to push back against the nomination of Mateer, the first assistant to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Grassley said he has also urged the White House to drop the nomination of Brett Talley, a controversial pick from Alabama.
Asked about Grassley's comments, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn't respond directly, saying only that she wasn't sure if Grassley had conveyed his concerns directly to the president.
"I'm not sure if they've spoken," she said.
President Donald Trump nominated Mateer on Sept. 7 to fill a vacancy based in Sherman, in the Eastern District of Texas, which handles cases from Plano to Beaumont.
And after Grassley's comments, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters that Trump received "bad advice" to nominate Mateer and Talley. Kennedy, speaking out for the first time about their nominations, said he would vote against both court picks.
Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz recommended Mateer. Neither has backed away from their pick, and both declined to comment Tuesday afternoon. After reports of Mateer's comments surfaced, Cornyn readily acknowledged that he hadn't been aware of the "Satan's plan" comments before news accounts a few weeks after the nomination.
In a pair of 2015 speeches, Mateer complained that states were banning conversion therapy and asserted that same-sex marriage would lead to polygamy and bestiality and other "disgusting" forms of wedlock. He referred to Satan's plan in one of those speeches.
The Pan American Health Organization has deemed conversion therapy "a serious threat to the health" of those treated.
Cruz said on Sept. 28 that Mateer's comments wouldn't shake his support. Before going to work for Paxton, Mateer was a top lawyer for a conservative legal group that fights for religious liberty.
"His record as a lawyer and public servant demonstrates a fidelity to law and a commitment to protecting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights," Cruz said at the time.
Cornyn projected some dismay at learning of the remarks, however, and said that Mateer had not disclosed them to the screening committee the senators rely on to evaluate potential nominees from Texas. He later said he would wait for the White House to weigh in. The White House remained silent.
Democrats and gay rights advocates have denounced the nomination since the comments surfaced.
At the liberal Alliance for Justice, president Nan Aron lauded Grassley's stance.
"This is welcome news. Brett Talley and Jeff Mateer are both wholly unfit for the federal bench," she said. "Mateer has made hostile and offensive remarks about transgender children."
Mateer has yet to submit a questionnaire to the Judiciary Committee, which suggests the nomination had stalled. No confirmation hearing has been scheduled. Federal judgeships are lifetime appointments and require Senate approval.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the senior Democrat on the committee, whose members include both Texas senators, is firmly opposed to the nomination.
"There's no question these views cast serious doubt on his ability to fairly enforce federal law and treat people impartially," she has said.
