Covid-19: Trump’s ‘unqualified’ judge becomes hero of US right for striking down mask mandate
- Kathryn Kimball Mizelle was rated ‘not qualified’ by the American Bar Association when she was nominated to be one of the country’s youngest federal judges
- The mask rule for travellers was one of the last US pandemic restrictions still in place
The US government’s public transport mask mandate was thrown out by a Trump appointee considered unqualified for the job by the American Bar Association but immediately hailed as a hero in conservative circles.
Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who was born in 1987, is among the youngest federal judges. She clerked for four federal judges, including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and had worked in several roles at the Justice Department and as an associate at Jones Day before
President Donald Trump nominated her for a seat in the Middle District of Florida in 2020.
The ABA panel that reviews judicial nominees gave Mizelle a “Not Qualified” rating for what it said was a lack of experience. The ABA typically looks for a minimum of 12 years experience to rate a nominee qualified and Mizelle was eight years out of the University of Florida’s law school at the time of her nomination.
Mizelle was ultimately confirmed by a 49-41 party-line vote, winning support from only Republican senators, who praised Mizelle for her ruling on Monday striking down the mandate requiring masks on aeroplanes, trains, and other public transport. Mizelle vacated the mask requirement nationwide.