WASHINGTON (CN) - The Senate Judiciary Committee approved 11 judicial nominees on Thursday, including one to the Ninth Circuit and one to the Second Circuit.
On a day dominated by debate of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, whose vote the committee delayed by a week as is its custom, the committee made quick work of approving a batch of judicial nominees, most of whom received bipartisan support.
The most controversial circuit court nominee the committee voted on Thursday was Ryan Nelson, an attorney who since 2009 has worked as general counsel at Melaleuca, which sells health supplements and other "wellness" products. Nelson was nominated last year to serve as solicitor for the Department of the Interior, but Democrats blocked him in the Senate and President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination in May.
Nelson faced questions during his nomination process about his views of climate change, having told the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in testimony last year that "the climate is changing and many factors influence that change." He also expressed support for the Trump administration's America First Energy Plan, which includes a heavy focus on coal and other fossil fuels.
Nelson has a history of working in environmental law, having served from 2006 to 2008 as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Nelson told Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., he would be able to fairly evaluate scientific evidence regarding the climate, no matter his own personal views.
"The art of good judging is tethering yourself so closely to the rule of law and the Constitution, including any legal evaluation of scientific evidence in a specific case or controversy, that personal beliefs do not dictate the outcome of any issue or case," Nelson wrote in response to questions submitted after his nomination hearing.
Senators also pressed Nelson on his work for Melaleuca, which has faced investigation from state regulators and accusations of being a pyramid scheme. Nelson explained he was heavily involved in keeping the company compliant with state and federal laws while working as general counsel and that several state investigations into the company took place years before he went to work there.
He touted his efforts in doubling the size of the company's compliance department and said he has investigated "hundreds" of the company's marketing executives, firing some who violated the company's policies.
"As general counsel, I sought to ensure that Melaleuca's product offerings enhanced the company's commitment to provide real products to real customers at competitive prices," Nelson wrote in response to questions submitted after his nomination hearing.
A member of the conservative Federalist Society, Nelson has also worked in politics, having served on the regulatory policy advisory committee during Mitt Romney's run for president in 2012 and as a legal advisor on President George W. Bush's 2004 campaign.
Nelson cleared the committee on an 11-10, party-line vote.
U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan, who is up for a seat on the Second Circuit, received significantly more support on Thursday, earning approval in a 17-4 vote.
Sullivan has served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York since 2007, having previously spent more than a decade as a federal prosecutor in New York City. He also worked as general counsel at Marsh & McLennan Companies, later taking the same position at Marsh Inc.