President Donald Trump’s nominee for a lifetime seat on the federal appeals court based in New York told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that he cannot discuss his role in developing the administration’s immigration policy.

Steven Menashi, who works in the White House counsel’s office, has been among the top targets for progressive groups trying to derail Trump nominees to the federal bench, citing a variety of past writings and statements.

At a Wednesday morning confirmation hearing an exchange between Menashi and ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California saw Menashi confirm that he had spoken with senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, but repeatedly declined to talk about specifics.

“My role was to provide advice to policy advisers to the president. I did sometimes provide advice on issues, among many issues, on issues related to immigration,” he said. “He was policy adviser to the president.”