Overview
- At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that took place April 29, John G. E. Marck would not say the 22nd Amendment bars a third presidential term and the other nominees stayed silent when asked to apply its plain text.
- Pressed on the 2020 outcome, Marck, Michael Hendershot, Arthur Jones, and Jeffrey Kuntz avoided saying Joe Biden won and instead repeated that he was certified the winner.
- Hendershot called the January 6 attack on the Capitol “a matter of significant political controversy,” prompting sharp criticism from Senators Richard Blumenthal and Sheldon Whitehouse, while Chairman Chuck Grassley was heard asking what would be wrong with saying Biden won.
- The nominations remain before the committee, and Washington Monthly reports they are expected to advance on 12–10 party-line votes unless Republicans break ranks.
- The stakes are high because federal judges serve for life and the 22nd Amendment—ratified after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four elections—states that no person can be elected president more than twice, a rule that could be tested in future cases.