A week after a Republican senator blocked the confirmation of Kate Brubacher to become the U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas, her nomination is back on track.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 14-7 on Thursday to approve Brubacher’s nomination and send it to the Senate floor for a full vote. All of the committee’s Democrats voted in her favor, as did three Republicans — Sens. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, the only Missourian on the panel, voted against her nomination.
It took an extra week for Brubacher to make it out of committee after Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn said she objected to the fact that the former Jackson County assistant prosecutor once called herself a “prison abolitionist” and that she helped free a man who was convicted of a triple homicide from prison — without mentioning the man, Kevin Strickland, was innocent of the crime.
Blackburn’s office has not provided their source for claiming Brubacher called herself a prison abolitionist and those close with her say the claim is “verifiably false.”
Her opposition comes in part because Blackburn is upset that President Joe Biden has not renominated Casey Arrowood to become the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, after Asian-American groups objected to his nomination over Arrowood’s role in prosecuting a Tennessee professor on allegations that he was a Chinese spy. The charges were dismissed.
Brubacher, meanwhile, won praise locally after playing a critical role in the exoneration of Strickland, whose more than 40 years in prison is the longest known wrongful conviction in Missouri history.
Strickland on Thursday called Brubacher an “excellent” lawyer who proved her effectiveness during his difficult case.
“Which proves she is a dedicated attorney with skills to represent her state during her term as United States attorney for the District of Kansas,” he said.
Her nomination will now go to a full vote by the Senate, giving Sen. Eric Schmitt, a freshman Republican from Missouri, a chance to vote on the matter. As Missouri attorney general, Schmitt fought against Strickland’s release, saying he believed it was the role of his office to challenge the Jackson County prosecutor’s claims that Strickland was innocent.
Schmitt’s office has said it will not share how he will vote until Brubacher’s nomination goes to the floor. If confirmed, Brubacher will become the top federal prosecutor in Kansas.