MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed two conservative, Justice Department lawyers to posts on a California-based appeals court that President Donald Trump has tagged as a liberal bastion.
The two nominees won seats on the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers a wide swath of Western states from Alaska to Arizona, despite sharp opposition from their home-state senators. The 9th Circuit handles cases of high interest to the Trump administration, such as immigration and detention and famously rejected Trump's proposed travel ban on Muslim-majority countries. The Supreme Court later upheld the ban.
Trump has called the 9th Circuit a "big thorn in our side" and "a complete and total disaster."
Lawrence VanDyke, a deputy a
