Kyle Duncan is President Trump’s nominee to the Appellate Court for the Fifth Circuit of the United States, and the Senate is scheduled for a cloture vote on his nomination on Monday, April 23.
His potential seating is seen as key by various religious liberty and LGBTQ* advocacy foundations, because of his legal history. He is a former counsel for the Becket Foundation for Religious Liberty, a Washington D.C. based group that advocates for religious rights. He was also the lead counsel for Hobby Lobby on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores.
Religious liberty groups are overwhelmingly supportive of Duncan’s seating. LGBTQ* groups are overwhelmingly negative about it, as exemplified by a statement issued on Thursday night by Lambda Legal.
His resume is impressive, having graduated with a Masters from Columbia Law before working in the public sector (clerking for a Circuit Judge, Assistant Solicitor General in Texas), academia (associate Professor at University of Mississippi Law School) and the private sector (including the aforementioned Becket Foundation position.)
What may derail him is his political stance, as calls are made from advocates for and against him attempting to sway their Senators’ votes. How effective those calls are, the country will likely discover early next week.
