Republicans and Democrats sharply split over the nomination of U.S. District Judge Justin Walker for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, with both his statements on rulings on the Affordable Care Act and a recent opinion on religious liberty figuring predominantly during a hearing Wednesday.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the dynamics of Walker's hearing. Some senators chose to videoconference rather than attend the proceeding in a large and sparsely attended chamber. Walker's family did not attend in seats behind him, as is typical for nominees, and a member of the White House counsel's office could be seen sitting behind him wearing a face mask.

Democrats questioned why they were considering Walker's nomination at this time, while Republicans asserted their ability to fill judicial vacancies and handle pandemic-related matters simultaneously.

GOP senators at the hearing highlighted Walker's recent opinion granting a restraining order to a Louisville church to hold drive-in Easter Sunday services as showing his dedication to the U.S. Constitution and to protecting religious liberties.

Sen. Rand Paul, Walker's home state senator, praised the judge as being on track to be the first appointment to the D.C. Circuit "from outside the bubble," since Judge Thomas Griffith, whose seat Walker would fill. Paul also praised Walker's opinion on the Easter Sunday services as it "demonstrates the depth of his knowledge and history—more importantly, it demonstrates his fidelity to our Constitution."

Walker said he had to rule quickly in the case, and wrote a lengthy opinion because he "believed it was a momentous and a severe thing for a court to enjoin a mayor in the midst of this terrible pandemic, when the mayor is asserting that his actions could save lives."

But Democrats repeatedly raised Walker's past comments disparaging the U.S. Supreme Court's 2012 ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act, pressing the judge on whether he would rule to strike down the law.

"The problem we have, judge, is that we expect of our judges honesty, humility, impartiality," said Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. "You have not been the least bit impartial when it comes to the Affordable Care Act. Your legal or constitutional contempt is obvious."

Walker told the Democrats those statements were made while he was an academic, and not in the context of him serving as a federal judge. He said he would follow the Constitution, binding Supreme Court precedent and the text of the law in ruling on cases that appear before the D.C. Circuit if he is confirmed to the court, including on the health care law.

The nominee also cited his mother's past medical procedures and struggles, including breast cancer. "I thank God every day that she was able to get the medical care that she needed, and I very much hope that every American is able to get the medical care that they need," Walker said. "As a judge, it's not my job to define policy."

Durbin also asked Walker to recuse himself from cases involving the ACA over the prior comments on the health care law. Walker declined to make that commitment, saying he would follow the statute guiding judicial recusals.

"After 162 television appearances, after all that you've written, all you've said, it is painful to hear you say you have an open mind on the issue of the Affordable Care Act," Durbin said. "I gave you the opportunity to clear this issue off of the agenda, you've chosen not to."

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons later picked up on that line of questioning, telling Walker: "I'll just say that you yourself said earlier, a judge must approach every case with an open mind. And in your exchange with Senator Durbin, I'm left questioning why any litigant would trust you to be open-minded and fair in deciding a case about the ACA given your previous advocacy."

Republicans hit back with a defense of Walker and his credentials. They touted the American Bar Association's letter Tuesday saying the judge is "well qualified" for a seat on the D.C. Circuit, after saying last year the nominee was "not qualified" for a judgeship on the Western District of Kentucky.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy walked through Walker's past experiences, including his grades at Duke University and Harvard Law School as well as Walker's clerkships and time with the firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. "They hire a lot of dummies at Gibson Dunn, do they?" Kennedy asked, to which Walker replied the firm did not.

The Republicans also sought to defend Walker from criticism over his ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has known Walker since he was in high school.

"I guess you stand accused of actually knowing a United States senator or two," GOP Sen. John Cornyn said. "I don't know how you become a federal judge without knowing the United States senator, since it is a Senate responsibility to provide that advice and consent."

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse also pressed Walker about a letter he signed opposing a proposed change to the Judicial Conference's Code of Conduct that would block judges from belonging to the Federalist Society and the American Constitution Society. Walker said he signed the letter but did not help write it, and did not initially disclose it to senators because it was correspondence among judges.

After initially declining to name which judges helped draft the letter, Walker said he believed the judges would be "very proud" to be publicly associated with the letter and said D.C. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas and Judge Amul Thapar of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit were involved.

Wednesday's hearing was the first on judicial nominees held during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Whitehouse, Leahy and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar all appeared at the hearing through videoconference, as did GOP Sens. Thom Tillis and Marsha Blackburn.

Democratic senators throughout the proceedings gave passionate remarks about the other matters tied to the pandemic they could be considering rather than Walker's nomination, with many of them noting the vacancy on the D.C. Circuit doesn't open until September.

Many of those comments seemed to be in response to remarks made by Cornyn. "Heaven forbid the United States Congress show up to do our job," he said, prompting Democrats to point out their presence, in-person or virtually, during the pandemic.

Read more: