Posts Categorized: Republican obstruction

Currently, the only pending court of appeals nominee on the Senate calendar is Judge L. Felipe Restrepo, a nominee to the Third Circuit who just two years ago was unanimously confirmed as a trial court judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Both Restrepo’s fitness to serve and the pressing need for swift confirmation are plain. In addition to his judicial experience and prior Senate approval, Restrepo had an esteemed career as a practicing lawyer that included time as a public defender—a qualification so rare among circuit court judges that he would be the first ever former public defender on the Third Circuit. Restrepo also has bipartisan support, as his appointment was jointly recommended by both Pennsylvania senators, Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Pat Toomey. The vacancy itself is considered a “judicial emergency” and has been left empty for over two years. In other words, there is no rational reason not to confirm Judge Restrepo immediately.

Yet, as of today, Restrepo’s nomination has been pending for an entire calendar year, and there’s no indication from Senate GOP leadership that a confirmation vote is imminent. Read more

In an interview with Iowa Public Radio, shortly after being named chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said, “I have no reason to believe that the future is any different” for the committee.

He was right. Even with Senator Grassley as chair, Republican obstructionism continues in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In a previous edition of Benched!, we explained how, when Democrats controlled the Senate,  Republicans would routinely and needlessly “hold over” judicial and executive nominees rather than allowing the committee to vote at the first opportunity. This procedural tactic, normally reserved as a courtesy to senators who need more time to examine a candidate’s record, allowed Republicans to take an extra week before sending nominees to the Senate floor.

But now it’s the Republicans, not Democrats, who are setting the committee schedule. And while it might be reasonable in some cases for the minority party to need more time on a nominee, it is plainly a pretext for the majority party to claim it needs more time than it has given itself. Paul Gordon at People for the American Way explained this yesterday, writing that today we would find out “whether Republicans will continue one of the indefensible forms of obstruction that they engaged in for six years while in the minority.”

This morning, we got our answer. Without explanation, Senator Grassley held over the nominations of four federal judges and Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch.

All four of the judicial nominees are uncontroversial. They would fill district court seats in Utah and Texas, and have the support of their home-state Republican senators on the committee. Lynch has the support of many Republicans on the committee, including Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who told reporters “I’m ready to vote.”

For no apparent reason, Texans will now have to wait an extra week until two vacancies deemed “judicial emergencies” by the U.S. Courts—seats that have been empty for over 700 days each—will be filled. The country will have to wait an extra week for a new attorney general, whose confirmation has already taken the longest of any attorney general nominee in the past 30 years.

Republican obstructionism stays the same.

Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron issued the following statement in response to the vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee today on President Obama’s nomination of Nina Pillard to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit:

We commend the majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee for supporting President Obama’s nomination of Nina Pillard for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.  We are disappointed, but not surprised, that all of the committee’s Republicans chose to put politics ahead of qualifications and opposed this outstanding nominee.

The American people have good reason to be fed up with Republican obstruction and delay.  They demand and deserve courts that have enough judges to administer justice fairly and swiftly.  Americans are entitled to a swift yes-or-no vote by the full Senate on Nina Pillard and President Obama’s other judicial nominees.

Read more about Nina Pillard in this previous post to Justice Watch