Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema voted “yes” Wednesday on two of four U.S. district judges up for Senate confirmation.
Sinema was one of only three Democrats to vote to confirm Trump appointee Kenneth D. Bell to be U.S. district judge for the Western District of North Carolina.
The #Senate confirmed the nomination of Kenneth Bell to be US District Judge for the western district of North Carolina, 55-43.
3 Dems in favor: Manchin, Jones & Sinema.
Not voting: Harris (D) & Tillis (R)
— Senate Press Gallery (@SenatePress) May 22, 2019
Bell, a former North Carolina assistant U.S. attorney and current partner with McGuireWoods, LLP, a Charlotte, North Carolina law firm, was confirmed by a 55 – 43 vote with two senators — California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris and Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis — not voting.
Additionally, the Arizona senator voted yes to confirm former Clarence Thomas clerk Carl Nichols to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Nichols also won his confirmation by a 55-43 vote. (RELATED: THE 100: Trump Installs One-Hundo Judges On The Federal Bench)
The #Senate confirmed the nomination of Carl Nichols to be US District Judge for the District of Columbia, 55-43. D’s Jones, Manchin & Sinema in favor.
Next (and last) vote: confirmation of Kenneth Bell to be US District Judge for the western district of North Carolina.
— Senate Press Gallery (@SenatePress) May 22, 2019
Other Democratic senators to join Sinema on both confirmations were Alabama’s Doug Jones and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, both of whom have supported Trump judicial nominees in the past.
Nichols and Bell became the 68th and 69th Trump-appointed district court judges to be confirmed by the Senate.
Sinema, whose vote for William Barr’s attorney general confirmation isn’t the first time she has broken ranks with fellow Democrats, drew the ire of NARAL Pro-Choice America after stating her support for Michael Liburdi’s nomination for the U.S. District Court in Arizona. Ilyse Hogue, the group’s president, called it “beyond troubling” in February.
Sinema did vote “no” on Stephen Clark and Howard Nielson, but both won their U.S. District Court confirmations on Wednesday, as well.