Though President Donald Trump was impeached and faces a trial to determine if he will be removed from office, his judicial nominees are still being heard and confirmed. Thirteen judges were confirmed the same week he was impeached in the House, bringing Trump’s...
This election cycle, Democratic voters are realizing the importance of the federal courts with a new sense of urgency. This is partly because of court advocacy groups, but also the speed at which President Donald Trump's nominations have been confirmed. With the...
While the country’s focus is on the impeachment vote in the House of Representatives, the Senate yesterday and today is in the midst of confirming 13 more federal judges for district courts across the country. None of these nominees have drawn the same controversy...
Last night, people around the country took to the streets to demand accountability for Donald J. Trump, the fourth president in history to face impeachment. In Des Moines, hundreds of people gathered on the steps of the Iowa Capitol building with signs and chants....
As political candidates of all backgrounds denounce the role of dark money in American politics, recent news around Sen. Joni Ernst's campaign illustrates the difficult task of enforcing the rules already in place. Earlier this month, the AP reported that the...
Iowa is now the only state in the nation that disenfranchises all people who commit felonies and have served their time. Today, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order to restore voting rights to felons in the state, leaving Iowa alone as the only...
This afternoon Sen. Joni Ernst voted to confirm Lawrence VanDyke to a seat on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. VanDyke was confirmed by a vote of 51-44. For the past few days, Ernst has been one of the senators targeted by progressive judicial advocacy group...
Sen. Joni Ernst will make yet another choice, likely this week, on a judicial appointee with limited credentials and a controversial ideological background. Lawrence VanDyke has been nominated for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the second-highest level of the...
The Iowa Democratic Party has a new first vice chair: June Owens. Owens was elected on Saturday after Andrea Phillips, who had held the first vice chair role for several years, stepped down to run for the Iowa House in Ankeny. She’s the first African American woman...
One of Donald Trump’s biggest goals as president has been reshaping the federal judiciary. On Tuesday, eight judicial nominees were highlighted for an abbreviated debate and are expected to come up for a vote before the full Senate sometime this week. Sen. Joni...
