Nearly 30 organizations, including the Alabama NAACP, called on the Republican-led Senate to halt the confirmation process for a Montgomery federal court judge’s nomination to a U.S. appeals court, arguing that President Trump is in no position to have his judicial picks confirmed with his upcoming Senate trial after being impeached by the House.

The groups also contended the nominee – Judge Andrew Brasher of the Middle District of Alabama – has a “disqualifying” record on voting rights dating back to his tenure as Alabama’s solicitor general.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Brasher’s confirmation on Thursday, but the organizations against the nomination sent letters last week to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., imploring them to hold off on the vote.

“Andrew Brasher is an extreme example of Donald Trump’s weaponizing the bench to suppress the vote. Brasher has the worst voting rights record of any Trump appellate nominee. His confirmation would be a lifetime strike against our democracy. We cannot allow Judge Brasher to preside over millions of black and brown residents of the Deep South who depend on the federal courts to fully participate in our democracy,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement released Tuesday. “As we celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, we must re-dedicate ourselves to fighting for judges who will protect our most successful civil rights law, not eviscerate it. The NAACP will fight this nomination with everything we’ve got.”

An NAACP report from July entitled “Trump’s Judicial Playbook: Weaponizing the Bench,” said Brasher “engaged in aggressive efforts to oppose political participation by voters of color” when he was Alabama solicitor general because Brasher filed a brief on the state’s behalf in Shelby County v. Holder – a U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Those provisions included requiring several southern states, including Alabama, requiring preclearance from the federal government before it could change any voting laws.

“Alabama is the birthplace of voting rights. It is inconceivable that someone with an atrocious voting rights record like Andrew Brasher would be nominated to the Alabama seat on this powerful circuit court,” said Alabama NAACP President Bernard Simelton. “The Brasher nomination is an insult to Selma, its heroes, and everything they stand for.”

Brasher’s opinions aside, the bigger question about his potential confirmation is whether an impeached president should be able to have judges confirmed before a Senate trial, according to Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law and an expert on federal judicial nominees.

Tobias pointed out the Senate did not hold confirmation hearings for President Bill Clinton’s nominees in 1999 after Clinton was impeached.

“Certainly, Republicans wouldn’t let Clinton do anything when he was in a similar situation, so I suppose we’ll see if there’s a double standard,” Tobias said.

But the professor said he doesn’t expect McConnell to delay Thursday’s vote.

“Nobody seems to be embarrassed, so I think he’ll do what he wants to,” Tobias said.

Brasher, 38, has had a fast rise through the ranks. Just six months after being confirmed for the district court judgeship, Trump nominated him for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Alabama, Georgia and Florida -- “which is warp speed for someone to be elevated from the district court to the appellate court,” Tobias said.

One of the determining factors in Brasher’s rise from solicitor general to federal judge to federal appeals court nominee is his relatively young age. Trump has made it a priority to nominate judges who will be on the bench for decades as part of his legacy.

“Someone like Brasher could serve for 40 years on the 11th Circuit, and there have been similarly young nominees,” Tobias said. The Trump administration is “looking for people in their 30s or 40s if they can find them and the oldest are in their 50s.”

Brasher was confirmed for the Montgomery federal court post in May, in a strict party line vote of 52-47. Tobias said he believes Brasher will be confirmed for the appeals court judgeship in a similar fashion.

“It’s much more important, and he’s young,” the professor said. “All of that means it’s likely to be party line.”