WASHINGTON As the nation grapples with a deadly pandemic and nationwide protests for racial justice, Senate Republicans are acting with urgency to put Majority Leader Mitch McConnells protege into a lifetime seat on the nations second-most-powerful court.

The Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to advance Justin Walkers nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Theres nothing particularly pressing about filling this court seat; its not even vacant until September. But McConnell is personally invested in Walkers ascent.

McConnell has known Walker, 38, since Walker was in high school. The senator recommended him to the White House last year for a seat on a U.S. District Court in Kentucky.

Republicans confirmed Walker to that seat last fall, despite the American Bar Association rating him not qualified based on his lack of experience (at the time, his resume included being an associate law professor and a former law clerk to then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the D.C. Court of Appeals). Walker has only been a district judge for a matter of months, but McConnell wants him to have a seat on the D.C. Court of Appeals, and the ABA said he is qualified this time.