Biden Plans to Nominate Anti-Abortion Republican to Federal Judgeship as Part of a Deal with Mitch McConnell, Per Report

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President Joe Biden “is poised to nominate” an anti-abortion Republican lawyer to a federal district judgeship in Kentucky, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported on Wednesday.

The paper said the pending nomination of Chad Meredith appears to be part of a deal between Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). According to the Courier-Journal, Meredith’s appointment would come in exchange for McConnell “agreeing not to hold up future federal nominations by the Biden White House.”

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) said he “strongly” opposes the nomination.

“Given that a judicial position isn’t currently open on the Eastern District Court, it’s clear that this is part of some larger deal on judicial nominations between the president and Mitch McConnell,” Yarmuth said.

Arguing before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021, Meredith successfully defended a Kentucky law requiring doctors to perform ultrasounds and describe the images to patients before they get abortions.

The news comes less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion.

Wednesday’s development will be an unwelcome one by a Democratic base still reeling from the court’s decision. If the report is accurate, there is still time for the pending nomination to get derailed by liberal uproar.

Though there are no vacancies in any federal district courts in Kentucky, there are 64 district court vacancies elsewhere. Biden has made just 18 nominations to fill them.

One of the reasons for the empty seats is due to the use of what are called “blue slips” in the U.S. Senate. Per custom, senators must sign off on federal judicial appointments in their states. The practice has been axed for circuit court nominees, but remains for district court judgeships.

It is unclear if other Republican senators are on board with the deal McConnell has with the White House.

The Courier-Journal reported that the White House, McConnell, and Meredith all declined to comment for the story.