By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., hopes his committee will receive the first batch of judicial nominees from the Obama administration before lawmakers begin the spring recess early next month. He said today he wants to have hearings soon after members return and has urged the White House to work quickly to finalize nominations.
Confirmations are likely to be difficult after 41 Senate Republicans wrote to President Obama this month threatening to filibuster if they do not agree with his choices. They described selecting judges as a "shared constitutional responsibility" and recommended that Obama renominate three of former President George W. Bush's failed nominees: Peter Keisler, Glen Conrad and Paul Diamond.
If Obama and Senate Democrats do not get GOP senators' blessing for the nominees in their home states, "the Republican Conference will be unable to support moving forward on that nominee," the letter said.
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Responded on March 18, 2009 8:19 AM
abbeylou
His Baldness needs to be reminded of how he stonewalled Bush nominees. What a jerk.