By Nate Raymond
July 21 (Reuters) - A White House lawyer nominated by President Donald Trump to serve on a court that hears litigation regarding trade laws and tariff policies was confirmed to the bench on Tuesday after she apologized for past social media posts that attacked various senators including Republicans.
The Republican-led Senate voted 50-48 in favor of Kara Westercamp becoming a life-tenured judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade, with Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine joining
with Democratic lawmakers to oppose her confirmation.
Two Republican senators did not vote, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has been hospitalized and has not been present for votes. Westercamp has previously in Twitter posts referred to McConnell as "Cocaine Mitch" and accused him of betraying Trump.
The Senate moved ahead with votes on Westercamp while McConnell was out following the July 11 death of another of her social media targets, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, whom she called "weak-ass" and "disappointing." She had retweeted a post critical of Collins as well.
Westercamp's Twitter posts as well as her role advising Trump on tariff policies became central topics for senators as they weighed whether she should be allowed to serve on the New York-based specialist court, which hears disputes concerning customs and international trade laws.
Westercamp, an associate counsel in the White House, had previously worked at the U.S. Department of Justice. Trump in announcing her nomination in a February social media post touted her as a "very experienced Trade Lawyer" involved with "defending our historic and popular America First Agenda."
Trump announced her nomination a week before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his sweeping global tariffs that had previously been faulted by the Court of International Trade.
Westercamp has said she was not involved in the initial formulation of the Trump tariff policies at issue in the Supreme Court case but has said she was involved in drafting and reviewing some executive orders that had also relied on International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
She has vowed to recuse herself from matters she worked on while at the White House Counsel’s Office.
Westercamp also faced questions during a March hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee about what Senator Dick Durbin, the panel's top Democrat, called "prolific, inflammatory" social media posts attacking various senators.
"This shameless display of extreme rhetoric does not reflect the independence or the judicial temperament required for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench," Durbin said in a statement on Tuesday.
Westercamp apologized during the March hearing and said she made those posts in her personal capacity while working at the Justice Department.
"In hindsight, I think that using Twitter is not the right platform, especially retweets from someone I don't know regarding political opinions, controversial topics, or even characterizations of people," she said. "And so I do sincerely apologize for those posts."
Senate Democrats at the hearing also pressed Westercamp on other social media posts in which they said she suggested law enforcement or Antifa was complicit in the violence that occurred during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, when thousands of Trump supporters mounted an unsuccessful attempt to overturn Trump's 2020 electoral defeat.
Westercamp said she condemned all violence that occurred that day and regretted her social media posts. Asked who won the 2020 election, Westercamp would only say that "in 2020, President Biden was certified by the Electoral College."
Read more:
Trump's nominee to trade court apologizes for past social media posts
Trump nominates White House lawyer to court hearing tariff cases
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston)
