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The Judicial Controversy That Might Not Be

U.S. District Judge Justin Walker was already destined for a contentious nomination hearing when questions started being asked about the vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit he was set to fill.

Judge Thomas Griffith, a George W. Bush appointee who has sat on the circuit since 2005, quietly announced in March that he will retire in September. That gave President Donald Trump the chance to select his third nominee for the influential appeals court, even though it wouldn't do much to change the overall ideological makeup of the bench.