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Grassley says 2 controversial judicial nominees won't be confirmed

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley says the nominations of two controversial judicial nominees won’t be moving forward based on his conversations with the White House.



Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said that neither Jeff Mateer nor Brett Talley will be confirmed, the Washington Post reports. The story follows reports by NPR and BuzzFeed News that Talley’s nomination was not moving forward.

Grassley said on Tuesday that he had advised the White House not to proceed on either nomination. A Senate Judiciary Committee spokesman had said Grassley was concerned about statements made by Talley and Mateer, who were nominated to judgeships in the Middle District of Alabama and the Eastern District of Texas, respectively.

Talley had been rated “not qualified” by the ABA because he didn’t have sufficient trial experience. He is an author of horror fiction and a former member of a paranormal research group who news reports have identified as the author of blog posts under the handle BamainBoston that defended the early Ku Klux Klan.

Mateer was rated “qualified” by a substantial majority of the ABA committee, and “not qualified” by a committee minority. Mateer once characterized a lawsuit over a transgender child’s bathroom access as evidence of Satan’s plan, according to a September report by CNN. He also criticized gay marriage and endorsed conversion therapy.

Grassley said Talley and Mateer did not disclose those comments in the vetting process, according to the Washington Post article. He has also said that Talley did not disclose during a committee interview that his wife is chief of staff for White House counsel Don McGahn.