Unfit for the Bench: Judge Bjelkengren’s Lack of Constitutional Knowledge

So, what sort of judges is President Biden nominating to the federal courts? If Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren is a baseline, we are in trouble. 

Bjelkengren is Spokane County’s Superior Court Judge nominated as a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Washington. At her confirmation hearings last week, she had no clue what purposes Article V or Article II (amendments and executive authority) serve in the U.S. Constitution. When asked basic questions by Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), she smirked and responded that the provisions of the Constitution do not come to mind.

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) has urged Bjelkengren’s confirmation because “the American people deserve a judiciary that reflects the diversity of this country.” Bjelkengren was the first African American female judge in Eastern Washington when she ascended to the superior court in 2019.

In modern America, diversity trumps constitutional knowledge. Pathetic.