Reid Rushing Nominees to Floor Before August Recess

[Tx4obama]

Reid Rushing Nominees to Floor Before August Recess

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Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters Tuesday that he expected a full slate of five NLRB picks would be confirmed by the end of the week.

“Once these five nominations are approved by the Senate, our country will have a fully-confirmed, fully-functional board for the first time in more than a decade — a huge step forward for workers, businesses and our economy,” HELP Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said.

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There’s also the issue of the remaining appellate vacancies on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Judiciary panel held a nomination hearing for another of those individuals, Nina Pillard, on Wednesday.

At that hearing, committee members once again disagreed about caseload, with Republicans saying that the vacant court seats would be better used elsewhere. Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., disputed that contention, noting the Democrats supported the 2003 confirmation of John G. Roberts Jr. (now the chief justice of the Supreme Court) to the D.C. appeals court, despite the effect on caseload.

“There is simply no precedent for this attempt by committee Republicans to prevent three well qualified nominees from filling the three vacancies on the D.C. Circuit,” Leahy said. “The D.C. Circuit caseload argument has been made in earnest only by Senate Republicans when they wish to prevent a Democratic president from fulfilling his constitutional duty to nominate judges.”

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Full article here: http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/reid-rushing-nominees-to-floor-before-august-recess/

Those damn Republicans! They just won't ever quit with their BS !!!

[Firebrand Gary]

1. Tx, do you remember what the 'cut off' period is?

I recall there being some agreement that the President will not nominate a judge for so many months prior to an election, does that just apply to Presidential cycles? I'm assuming so.

I'm ready for Reid to go nuke on the judiciary's nominees.

[Tx4obama]

2. I'm clueless about what you're referring to as regards to 'the president'...

I remember that a Senate GOPer said that the Senate normally doesn't confirm nominees within so many months before a presidential election...

but I believe I haven't heard anything about any president agreeing to that.

I'll see if I can find a link to the Senator quote.

[Firebrand Gary]

4. No need, but thank you.

You're correct, I remember it being GOPer that made the same statement. I was thinking we are probably going to be hearing that same excuse in the coming months, but I recall it only pertaining to Presidential elections. I guess it doesn't really matter anyhow, the President has done an excellent job of nominations for vacancies and truth is the GOP would make any excuse to delay them.

[Tx4obama]

5. Too late - I already posted an article in Comment #3

And yes I agree President Obama has done an excellent job with judicial nominees.
List of confirmed and currently waiting judicial nominees: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_Barack_Obama

It's just a shame that the GOP has obstructed so much and has even screwed up a few of the good ones such as Goodwin Liu and Caitlin Halligan (both asked Obama for their nominations to be withdrawn after years of waiting).
List of judicial appointment controversies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_judicial_appointment_controversies

[Firebrand Gary]

6. Too funny, I thought to myself as I was typing 'no need' that you probably had it done already.

Thanks again, Tx! Hope you are well!

[Tx4obama]

3. Here's an article from November 2012. Might be sorta what you're thinking of ...

President Barack Obama’s re-election last week has exposed an internal rift among Republican senators over whether to clear the way for confirmation votes on long-stalled judicial nominations during the lame-duck session or delay them until the next Congress.

Utah Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, a prominent Republican on the Judiciary Committee, predicted Wednesday that none of Obama’s 19 judicial nominees awaiting Senate floor action will be confirmed before year’s end. If they are not confirmed, the president must renominate them next year.

“That’s not going to happen in the lame-duck,” Hatch said in an interview. “That will have to wait until next year.”

Hatch’s position, however, is not shared by all his Republican colleagues. The list of stalled nominees includes several who have the strong backing of their home-state Republican senators. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, for example, are pressing for confirmation votes in the post-election session.

Republican leaders have blocked all judicial confirmations since September, citing a loose Senate custom of not approving a president’s judicial nominees in what could be the final months of an administration.

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http://www.rollcall.com/news/republicans_split_on_judicial_nominees-219195-1.html