The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nomination of University of Louisville law professor Justin Walker, whom President Donald Trump has tapped to become a federal judge.

The committee voted Thursday morning to send Walker’s nomination to the full Senate, which still must decide whether to confirm Walker as a U.S. district judge for the Western District of Kentucky.

Thursday's vote was generally split along party lines, with the committee's Republicans favoring Walker’s nomination and its Democrats opposing it.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, said she could not support Walker’s nomination, although she did support a few of Trump's other judicial nominees who were up for consideration Thursday.

In explaining her opposition to Walker's nomination, Feinstein emphasized that the American Bar Association deemed Walker not qualified to be a federal district court judge.

“The ABA wrote, and I quote: 'Mr. Walker’s experience to date has a very substantial gap, namely the absence of any significant trial experience. Mr. Walker has never tried a case as lead or co-counsel, whether civil or criminal,'" Feinstein said.

Earlier:Bar association panel finds Trump's nominee Justin Walker unqualified

Feinstein also said a number of arguments Walker has made as a law professor are concerning.

"He has opposed the ability of federal agencies to adopt critical health and safety protections for workers and the environment, and he has argued that the FBI should not be independent of the president,’” she said Thursday.

U.S. Sen. Michael Lee, a Utah Republican, vouched for Walker — who previously clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Anthony Kennedy — during Thursday's committee hearing.

Trial experience isn’t unimportant, Lee said, but the Judiciary Committee has advanced nominees in the past who had less experience with trials than they did with other aspects of litigation, such as with making dispositive motions that seek to advance or resolve a case without further trial proceedings.

He indicated that Walker falls into that category of nominee.

“I believe that a healthy federal district bench benefits from both types of experience, and in Mr. Walker’s case, I know him to be a man of absolutely outstanding, unsurpassed intellectual capabilities, and someone from whom the federal judiciary will benefit (for) years to come,” Lee said.

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Walker, who works as an associate professor of law at U of L and earned degrees from Duke University and Harvard Law School, already has the support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Trump nominated him this summer at McConnell's recommendation.

And in a statement Thursday, McConnell lauded the Judiciary Committee's decision and said he looks forward to the full Senate considering Walker's nomination soon.

“As I told the Senate Judiciary Committee, Justin Walker is a thoroughly impressive nominee with the experience and qualifications to excel on the federal bench in Kentucky," McConnell said. "I’m glad my colleagues advanced his nomination, recognizing both his outstanding credentials and the strong support he’s earned throughout the Commonwealth."

Read more:Trump's Kentucky judicial nominee not a fan of government transparency

Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @morganwatkins26. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/morganw.