President Biden is poised to nominate an anti-abortion Republican lawyer for a lifetime appointment as a federal judge in Kentucky. That’s according to the Louisville Courier-Journal, which reports Biden’s planned nomination of Chad Meredith is strongly opposed by Democratic Congressmember John Yarmuth of Kentucky. Yarmuth told the newspaper, “It’s clear that this is part of some larger deal on judicial nominations between the president and Mitch McConnell. I strongly oppose this deal and Meredith being nominated for the position. The last thing we need is another extremist on the bench.”

Chad Meredith is a member of the far-right Federalist Society who served as legal counsel to former Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin. In 2018, he argued on behalf of Kentucky before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, defending the anti-choice law H.B. 2, known as the Ultrasound Informed Consent Act. The legislation required physicians to carry out an ultrasound on patients about to receive an abortion; to explain the ultrasound imagery to the patient; and to play live audio of any fetal cardiac muscle contractions detectable by the ultrasound.

Chad Meredith: “Not every patient fully understands the nature and consequences of the abortion procedure. Not every patient understands the development of the fetus and the stage at which the fetus is and the extent to which it is developed.”