Senate Judiciary Committee questions Whitney Herrondorfer on clerkships, historical briefs and judicial independence

Whitney Herrondorfer, President Trump's nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for questioning on her record, clerkships and legal philosophy.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley opened the hearing noting the importance of Article III judges and introduced Herrondorfer as ''uniquely impressive'' for having clerked for three sitting Supreme Court justices and serving as director of the strategic litigation unit in the Tennessee Attorney General's Office.

The hearing centered on three themes: Herrondorfer's credentials and courtroom experience, her office's litigation choices (including a Tennessee amicus brief in litigation about birthright citizenship), and her membership in professional networks.

Herrondorfer detailed her experience as a clerk and litigator and said she has served as counsel in ''probably about 80 to 90 cases'' across state and federal courts, most often in federal courts…