Share

Senator Urges Colleagues to Work Through Weekends and Recess To Confirm Trump Nominees

Share

GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa urged the Senate to work through weekends and the August recess on Friday to continue processing President Donald Trump’s nominees to the federal courts.

Grassley, who leads the Republican judicial confirmation effort from his perch as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Twitter that Democratic obstruction warranted recourse to unconventional measures.

Grassley’s post drew liberals out of the woodwork criticizing the Senate for keeping former President Barack Obama from filling the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat with a liberal. (It was a maneuver that made it possible for conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch to join the court.)

But at least one backer of President Donald Trump tweeted her support.

Although 2017 saw Trump and congressional allies set a record for appeals court confirmations in the first year of a presidential term, Senate Republicans now must manage a burgeoning pool of nominees, who languish for months at a time between confirmation hearings and final approval on the Senate floor.

One appeals court nominee, Mark Bennett for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has been waiting on a confirmation vote since Feb. 15.

Bennett was approved 18–2 and is not expected to draw Democratic opposition. Several dozen district court nominees are similarly situated.

Senate Democrats have aggressively leveraged procedural mechanisms to slow the pace of confirmations, forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to limit the amount of Senate time expended on judgeships.

Judiciary committee Democrats regularly exercise their prerogative to delay consideration of nominees by one week, while Democratic leadership has forced time-consuming cloture votes on many circuit court nominees, even those confirmed with bipartisan support.

In one instance, Democrats forced cloture on the nomination of Donald Coggins Jr. to the federal trial court in South Carolina. Coggins was originally nominated to the post by former President Barack Obama. He was confirmed on a 96–0 vote.

On May 11, 16 Republican senators sent McConnell a letter pressing him to cancel the August recess and move on key elements of Trump’s agenda, including judicial nominees.

Grassley was not among the signatories.

Related:
Watch: JD Vance Rushes to See What's Wrong After Scream in the Audience Disrupts Town Hall

A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website. 

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , , , ,
Share
Founded by Tucker Carlson, a 25-year veteran of print and broadcast media, and Neil Patel, former chief policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, The Daily Caller News Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit providing original investigative reporting from a team of professional reporters that operates for the public benefit. Photo credit: @DailyCaller on Twitter




Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.

Conversation