Monday, November 18, 2013

Senate Republicans once again successfully blocked a nominee for the D.C. Circuit. Today's vote, 38 to 53, fell seven short of the 60 needed to overcome the Republican filibuster of Robert Wilkins's nomination to the court. Politico reports here.

This now puts Republicans at 3-0 in the last three weeks in blocking judicial nominees to the D.C. Circuit. In the last two weeks, they successfully filibustered Patricia Millett and Nina Pillard.

Some Senate Democrats are making more noise about using the nuclear option, that is, getting rid of the filibuster (the cloture rule) for judicial nominees. Republicans (still) say that the court isn't busy enough to fill the three vacancies, and that they're just doing the same thing that Democrats did when they blocked President Bush's nominee to the court, Peter Keisler.

Active judges on the court are evenly divided between those appointed by Democrats and those appointed by Republicans. But five of the court's six senior judges--who still sit and decide cases--are appointed by conservatives. Indeed, 15 of the last 19 appointments to the court were by Republican presidents.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/conlaw/2013/11/senate-republicans-block-third-dc-circuit-nominee-in-three-weeks.html