Six Months Into the Unexpected Democratic Senate – Assessing the Landscape of Judicial Vacancies

Last November, Democrats defied political gravity and expanded their razor-thin majority in the U.S. Senate, enabling them to continue confirming judicial nominees for another two years. Six months into their Senate, it is worth taking a look at their progress and the landscape that remains.

In the last Congress, despite depending on the Vice President’s vote for their Senate majority, the Senate confirmed 97 Article III judges: one to the U.S. Supreme Court; 28 to the Courts of Appeal; and 68 to the U.S. District Courts. To maintain a similar pace, Democrats would need to have confirmed between 25-30 judges so far.

The good news is that, so far, Democrats are on pace to slightly exceed their pace, having confirmed 39 judges so far (7 appellate and 32 district) and on pace to confirm two more next week. The less positive news, however, is that the pace of nominations from the White House has dramatically slowed. After sending 55 nominations to the Senate in his first year and 70 in his second year, Biden has nominated just 30 judges so far this year. He has also had to deal with the first nomination losses of his Administration, with one appellate and two district judges being withdrawn, with a third potentially going the same route.

As a result of this slowdown in nominations, the majority of existing judicial vacancies lack nominees, and the Senate has only enough nominees to carry through its current confirmation pace to August. A summary of this landscape follows:

D.C. Circuit – 0 vacancies out of 11 judgeships

In two and a half years, Biden has managed to appoint four judges to the so-called “second highest court in the land”, starting with now-Supreme Court Justice Jackson, who was confirmed to the court in June 2021, a mere two months after her nomination. In 2022, Judge David Tatel was replaced by Judge Michelle Childs while Judge Florence Pan was confirmed to replace Jackson when she was elevated. This year, 37-year-old Brad Garcia was confirmed to fill the last remaining vacancy on the court, vacated lat year by Judge Judith Ann Wilson Rogers. The influential court has only one judge who is currently eligible for senior status, 78-year-old Karen Henderson, who has shown no sign of slowing down, making it unlikely that Biden would have any more appointees to the court this term.

The only district court that reports to the D.C. Circuit is the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The 15-judgeship court has two sitting Biden appointees and two current vacancies, from Pan’s elevation, for which Judge Todd Edelman remains pending on the senate floor for confirmation, and from Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s move to senior status last month, for which D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Loren AliKhan is pending a final Judiciary Committee vote. The outgoing chief judge of the court, Judge Beryl Howell, is the sole appointee on the court who is eligible for senior status, leaving the possibility that Biden may get an additional appointment to the court.

First Circuit – 1 vacancy out of 6 judgeships (no nominee pending)

The smallest court of appeals in the country was also the sole geographically-based court not to see a single Trump appointment. Biden has already named Judge Gustavo Gelpi and Public Defender Lara Montecalvo to the court. This year, reproductive rights attorney Julie Rikelman was confirmed to replace Judge Sandra Lynch, moving the court significantly to the left. The final seat, based in New Hampshire, was vacated by Judge Jeffrey Howard last year, and lacks a nominee now that Michael Delaney withdrew last month in the face of bipartisan opposition. Unless the Biden Administration has been pre-vetting an alternate candidate, it is unlikely that a new nominee to replace Howard will hit the senate before August. Meanwhile, Judge William Kayatta, who is based out of Maine, remains a possible contender to take senior status as well, giving Biden a chance to name five out of the six judges on the court.

While this Senate has already confirmed district judges to seats in Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, the district courts covered by the First Circuit have two pending judicial vacancies, both in Massachusetts, and both have nominees pending a final vote on the floor.

An additional five district judges in the circuit remain eligible for senior status: Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor and Judges Nathaniel Gorton, Patti Saris, and Richard Stearns in Massachusetts; and Judge Aida Delgado-Colon in Puerto Rico. Judge Jon Levy, who becomes eligible for senior status next year in Maine, has already announced his intention to take it. No public process has been announced to select a replacement.

Second Circuit – 0 vacancies out of 13 judgeships

After replacing five left-leaning judges on the Second Circuit in the last Congress, the Senate confirmed Justice Maria Araujo Kahn to replace 81-year-old conservative Jose Cabranes in March, transforming the court. With Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston unlikely to take senior status before her term as chief ends, there is unlikely to be another appointment to the Second Circuit for several years.

Of the states covered by the Second Circuit, Connecticut, which saw three Biden appointees hit the bench last year, currently has two of the eight active district judgeships vacant and one pending nominee, Judge Vernon Oliver, who received a Judiciary Committee hearing last month. It is expected that a second nominee is incoming.

Meanwhile, the district courts in New York, after six confirmations this Congress, are down to four current and future vacancies. The Eastern District of New York has one vacancy out of sixteen judgeships, with a nominee pending on the floor. Additionally, one nominee, Margaret Garnett, was submitted this week to fill a vacancy on the Southern District of New York. The remaining two vacancies, one on the Southern District, and one on the Western District, lack nominees.

Third Circuit – 1 vacancies out of 14 judgeships (no nominee pending)

The Senate confirmed two Biden appointees to this court last Congress (Arianna Freeman nominated to replace Judge Theodore McKee and Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to replace Judge Thomas Ambro). This year, the Senate confirmed Cindy Chung to replace Judge Brooks Smith. This leaves one vacancy, left by Judge Joseph Greenaway’s retirement, which lacks a nominee, but is expected to get one expeditiously. Additional vacancies this Congress are unlikely unless Judge Kent Jordan chooses to take senior status.

All three states covered by the Third Circuit have judicial vacancies. The biggest number are in Pennsylvania, which has three vacancies, two of which have nominees. Additionally, Judge Richard Andrews on the District of Delaware has indicated his desire to take senior status in December and Judge Jennifer Hall is being nominated to replace him.

The District of New Jersey, vacancy-ridden when the Biden Administration came to office, is now down to two seats left to fill, both of which are scheduled to open in the coming months. An additional seat may open if Biden chooses to elevate a district court judge to replace Greenaway (if he does so, Judges Georgette Castner and Zahid Quraishi are the most likely). The Senate previously confirmed two judges to the court this Congress and will likely process new nominees promptly.

Fourth Circuit – 1 vacancy out of 15 judgeships (no nominee pending)

After the confirmation of Judge DeAndrea Benjamin to the Fourth Circuit early this year, the big question mark in the Fourth Circuit is a Maryland vacancy first announced in December 2021 that still lacks a nominee. This has been reported to be the result of an impasse between the White House and Sen. Ben Cardin. With this Congress six months through, the clock is ticking for the two sides to reach a compromise, particularly as additional vacancies on the Fourth Circuit are possible with six other judges eligible for senior status (Chief Judge Roger Gregory, who ends his term as chief this year, is one judge to watch in particular).

One sign of optimism for the White House is that they were able to agree on two district court nominations in Maryland that are pending before the Senate, including Judge Brendan Hurson on the senate floor.

The Western District of North Carolina, meanwhile, has one current and one future vacancy, with no nominee on the horizon. An additional three North Carolina judges are eligible for senior status, leaving the possibility of additional vacancies opening.

The District of South Carolina currently has one vacancy, after Judge J. Michelle Childs was elevated to the D.C. Circuit. Late last year, it was suggested that U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Austin and attorney Beth Drake were under consideration to replace Childs, but no nominee has hit the senate yet. Additional vacancies are possible as Judge David Norton was rumored to be considering senior status in 2021, and Judge Richard Gergel is eligible as well.

The confirmations of two Virginia district judges earlier this year has left the state without any vacancies. With Judge Leonie Brinkema on the Eastern District of Virginia showing little appetite for slowing down, it is unlikely that the White House would get additional appointments in this state this term.

Meanwhile, West Virginia is the only state in the Fourth Circuit that has not yet seen a vacancy under Biden. Nonetheless, four of the state’s eight active judges are eligible for senior status, making it a reasonable chance that an additional vacancy may open this Congress.

Fifth Circuit – 1 vacancy out of 17 judgeships (one nominee pending)

Having appointed Judge Dana Douglas to the Fifth Circuit last year, Biden is poised to have a second appointment to the court in Judge Irma Ramirez. Six other judges on the Fifth Circuit are eligible for senior status, leaving a serious possibility that additional vacancies may open before the end of this Senate.

Louisiana’s Republican senators have managed to reach consensus with the Biden Administration on four nominations now, including two pending district court picks. It also appears that the senators had signed off on a third district court nominee to fill the last vacancy on the district court but the White House decided to drop the nominee from the package. Nonetheless, the good relationship that the parties have built should stand them well in filling the vacancy, as well as others that may open (six other Louisiana judges are eligible for senior status and a seventh will become eligible next year).

Mississippi, meanwhile, is in a holding pattern as the nomination of Scott Colom has stalled due to the late-breaking opposition of Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. With two other judges eligible for senior status, it is possible that a deal may grease Colom’s path to confirmation. Otherwise, only a change in blue slip policy would allow him to move forward.

No other state has more pending district court vacancies than Texas (eight to be precise) without any nominees pending. However, Texas senators have been collecting applications for the vacancies and the successful collaboration over Ramirez’s nomination suggests that deals can still be made. With twelve additional judges eligible for senior status, more vacancies may be on the horizon.

Sixth Circuit – 1 vacancies out of 16 judgeships (one nominee pending)

Of the three vacancies on the Sixth Circuit that opened in the Biden Administration, only the Ohio based seat of Judge R. Guy Cole remains open. Rachel Bloomekatz, nominated to replace Cole, is awaiting a final vote on the senate floor, which should come before the August recess. Of the remaining judges on the court, five are eligible for senior status: Judges Karen Nelson Moore, Eric Clay, Julia Smith Gibbons, Richard Allen Griffin, and Jane Branstetter Stranch. As such, it would not be surprising to see an additional vacancy open before the end of this Congress.

On the district court level, two of the four states under the Sixth Circuit have vacancies pending. After the White House’s proposal to nominate conservative lawyer Chad Meredith to the Eastern District of Kentucky fell through, Judge Karen Caldwell withdrew her intention to take senior status. As Caldwell and Judge Danny Reeves are the only judges on the Kentucky federal bench who are eligible for senior status, it is unlikely that Biden would be able to name any judges to the state.

With the confirmation of Judge Jonathan Grey to the Eastern District of Michigan this year, the court has three pending vacancies with two nominees pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee. With five other Michigan district judges eligible for senior status, there is a strong possibility that additional vacancies may open this Congress.

After the confirmation of four judges last year, there are no vacancies on the district courts of Ohio. However, five judges remain eligible for senior status, and it is conceivable that additional vacancies may open, particularly as Chief Judge Algernon Marbley ages out of his position next year.

Finally, a vacancy is pending on the Western District of Tennessee. The White House and Tennessee Senators battled over the Sixth Circuit nomination of Andre Mathis, and no nominee has been put forward to replace Judge John Fowlkes, who took senior status last year. If additional vacancies open (three judges are eligible for senior status), it is possible that the White House may be able to strike a package deal with Tennessee senators to fill the vacancies.

Seventh Circuit – 1 vacancy out of 11 judgeships (no nominees pending)

Having named Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, Judge John Lee, and Judge Doris Pryor to the Seventh Circuit last Congress, a fourth vacancy, opened by Judge Michael Kanne’s death, still lacks a nominee. Indiana’s Republican Senators worked with the White House to support Pryor, Judge Matthew Brookman for a district court seat, and two U.S. Attorney nominees. As such, it is expected that the White House will put forward a compromise candidate for the Seventh Circuit, likely paired with candidates to fill two vacancies on the Northern District of Indiana. If an additional seat opens, it will likely be that of Judge Ilana Rovner, who is in her mid-eighties and has been on the bench since the 1970s.

On the district court level, two vacancies are pending on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, with one nominee pending a final vote on the senate floor. The last vacancy will likely get a nominee in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Judge William Pocan‘s nomination was withdrawn due to the opposition of Sen. Ron Johnson, and Wisconsin’s senators recommended two alternate candidates for the seat: state judge Marc Hammer and personal injury attorney Byron Conway three weeks ago. As such, a nominee is unlikely to come before September. However, with three other Wisconsin district judges eligible for senior status, another vacancy may well open before the end of the Congress.

Eighth Circuit – 0 vacancies out of 11 judgeships

The Eighth Circuit remains the sole court of appeals not to see a vacancy open under Biden, even as three judges are currently eligible for senior status and a fourth becomes eligible next year. Each of the four, however, are fairly conservative, and may choose to hold off on senior status until a Republican Administration.

Out of the eight active judgeships among Arkansas’ two districts, only one remains vacant, left open by Judge P.K. Holmes’ move to senior status in 2021. However, despite two and a half years since Judge Holmes announced his move to senior status, no nominee has been announced. Given that the White House has been unable to agree with senators even on U.S. Attorney nominees in Arkansas, the prospects of a nominee seem remote, despite talks ongoing.

With the confirmation of Judge Stephen Locher to the Southern District of Iowa last year, the state is unlikely to see further vacancies this Congress, given the youth of all of its judges.

Having named two judges to the Minnesota district court last Congress, Biden has opportunity to replace Judge John Tunheim this year, and is expected to nominate Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey Bryan next month.

With three vacancies, Missouri is likely the sight of much Democratic frustration, as the state’s Republican senators have shown little willingness to agree to confirm replacements. As such, barring a change in blue slip policy, it is unlikely that Missouri will get any new judges soon.

The District of Nebraska has had a vacancy pending from Judge John Gerrard’s move to senior status. Senator Deborah Fischer opened the application process to replace Gerrard with a deadline in December 2022, suggesting that recommendations have likely already been made to the White House. If the Administration and senators can get on the same page, a nomination can likely be made and confirmed this year.

The District of North Dakota has two Trump appointees and no vacancies, while its neighbor to the south has two vacancies that need filling. Recent press suggests that the state’s Republican senators are not standing in the way of new appointments and that conversations are ongoing, suggesting optimism that nominations can be confirmed by the end of the year.

Ninth Circuit – 1 vacancy out of 29 judgeships (one nominee pending)

Compared to other courts of appeals, the White House has had comparative success in confirming judges to the Ninth Circuit, naming seven, with an eighth, Judge Ana de Alba, pending a final Senate vote. Of the judges who remain, six judges remain eligible for senior status, raising a fair possibility that an additional appointment may come Biden’s way.

Of the district courts covered by the Ninth Circuit, Biden has already named 29 judges, with seven additional nominees pending. One state that is still awaiting a nominee, however, is Alaska, which has still not seen a nominee to replace Judge Timothy Burgess who took senior status in December 2021. With Judge Sharon Gleason becoming eligible for senior status next year, a nomination grows increasingly important.

Similarly, Arizona has not seen any Biden district court appointees, although that is because no seat has opened during the Administration. However, in 2024, judges Douglas Rayes and James Soto become eligible for senior status, raising the possibility that Biden may be able to name some judges in Arizona.

California is the site of Biden’s greatest success on judicial nominations, with Biden having named 19 district judges, more than any other president in one term. An additional four nominees are pending confirmation of the senate floor and expected to be confirmed in the next few weeks. Furthermore, three other vacancies still lack nominees, and additional twelve judges are eligible for senior status. As such it would not be surprising to see Biden named thirty judges to the California district courts by the end of this term.

The District of Hawaii is expected to have some new judges with Judges J. Michael Seabright and Leslie Kobayashi taking senior status next year. Hawaii Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz have set up an evaluation committee to review applications with a deadline in March 2023, making it likely that new nominees should hit the senate in the coming months.

This Senate confirmed Judge Amanda Brailsford unanimously to a seat on the District of Idaho, adding gender diversity to one of a handful of all-male courts left in the nation.

Judge Dana Christensen in Montana has announced his intention to take senior status upon confirmation of a successor, and Montana’s senators have set up an application process to replace him with an application deadline on June 14 of this year. If the senators can reach an agreement on a nominee, confirmation can be expected promptly.

Having confirmed two judges to the District of Nevada last year, no additional vacancies are expected this Congress, with the bench largely composed of fairly young Obama and Biden nominees.

After the confirmation of Justice Adrienne Nelson to the District of Oregon earlier this year, the state is primed for two more Biden nominees, to replace Judges Ann Aiken and Marco Hernandez. Moving quickly, Oregon senators have already recommended six candidates rates to replace Hernandez. While Aiken does not base her chambers out of Portland, it is possible that one of the recommended candidates may be chosen to replace her.

The Eastern and Western Districts of Washington have seen a major transformation under Biden, with him filling six out of eleven judgeships already. An additional two nominees are expected to be confirmed in July, with the nomination of Charnelle Bjelkengren to the last remaining vacancy likely being a closer call.

Tenth Circuit – 1 vacancy out of 12 judgeships (no nominee pending)

The Kansas seat vacated by Judge Mary Briscoe is the oldest appellate vacancy in the country, and the site of failure by the White House when their first nominee, Jabari Wamble, crashed and burned due to the expectation of a bad ABA rating. Since then, there is little peep regarding a new Tenth Circuit nominee. Meanwhile, three other judges are also eligible for senior status, leaving the possibility that an additional appointment to the court may come Biden’s way.

The Colorado federal bench has seen significant turnover under Biden, with four out of the state’s seven judgeships filled with Biden appointees. Biden has a good chance to secure a fifth appointment upon the confirmation of Judge Kato Crews to fill the lone vacancy on the district court. Meanwhile, Judge Philip Brimmer becomes eligible for senior status next year, raising the possibility of a sixth appointment.

The District of Kansas has one pending vacancy, opened last year by Judge Julie Robinson’s move to senior status. The White House previously nominated Jabari Wamble to this seat, but Wamble withdrew in the face of an unfavorable ABA review, leaving the White House back at square one. If this seat gets filled now, it will likely be in conjunction with the Tenth Circuit vacancy.

Having confirmed three judges to the District of New Mexico, the court now has no pending vacancies, and is unlikely to have additional ones this Congress.

There are currently two vacancies on the Oklahoma district courts, and while Senators James Lankford indicated that he and the White House were having productive conversations back in 2021, there has been no nominee submitted and no updates since Sen. Markwayne Mullin replaced Sen. James Inhofe.

The District of Utah has a single vacancy, from Judge David Nuffer’s move to senior status last year. There has been little movement on a nominee publicly.

The District of Wyoming has a pending vacancy from Judge Nancy Freudenthal’s move to senior status last year. However, there appears to be little movement on a replacement and it is unclear what the status of negotiations is at.

Eleventh Circuit – 0 vacancies out of 12 judgeships

The Biden Administration achieved a significant victory last month when civil rights attorney Nancy Abudu was confirmed to the Eleventh Circuit. However, unless Judge Charles Wilson chooses to take senior status, the Administration is unlikely to secure a second appointment on the circuit.

On the district court level, Alabama has two pending vacancies, one from the elevation of Judge Andrew Brasher in the Trump Administration, and the second from Judge Abdul Kallon’s untimely resignation. Both lack nominees and it remains to be seen if a package can be reached (it’s possible that Alabama senators may demand the renomination of Trump nominee Edmund LaCour).

Florida currently has eight current and future district court vacancies, all of whom lack a nominee. Both Senator Marco Rubio and Florida’s Democratic House delegation recommended attorney Detra Shaw-Wilder (a Democrat) to the Southern District of Florida last year, but she was never nominated. However, in a breakthrough, the White House and senators were reported to have struck a deal to elevate two magistrate judges: Jacqueline Becerra and Melissa Damian; and nominate Rubio choice David Leibowitz to the Southern District. Assuming the deal holds up, nominees should hit the Senate this summer.

Meanwhile, Georgia has no current or pending judicial vacancies, although Judge Mark Treadwell on the Middle District is eligible for senior status and may take it soon.

Federal Circuit – 0 vacancies out of 12 judgeships

Biden has already named two judges to the specialized Federal Circuit, and the court has no current vacancies. However, two factors make this court one to keep an eye on. First, Judge Pauline Newman, at 96, the oldest active judge in the country, is in the middle of a disciplinary action concerning her continued fitness to remain in active status. Other judges on the court are pushing Newman to retire or take senior status, which would open a seat for Biden to fill. Second, even setting Newman aside, four other judges on the court are currently eligible for senior status, including judges Alan Lourie and Timothy Dyk, who are in their mid to late 80s. As such, the odds are in favor of an additional vacancy opening on the Federal Circuit this Congress.

Additionally, after more than two years of waiting, the White House finally named candidates to fill two vacancies on the Court of International Trade, the only Article III court that is required to have partisan balance. The candidates, a pair of a Democratic and Republican pick, should have relatively comfortable confirmations.

Conclusion

At this point, Democrats have many successes to tout in their first six months with a real majority, and have slightly exceeded their confirmation pace from the previous Congress. However, with a Presidential election looming, both the nomination and confirmation pace likely needs to accelerate further to give the Biden Administration a chance to catch up to, if not exceed, the accomplishments of the previous Trump Administration.

459 Comments

  1. It’s weird. It’s a shame because those wiki pages are a great repository for info that most people are too lazy to look up for themselves. That’s what it’s supposed to be for. I have no idea why they are going out of their way to say it isn’t noteworthy enough.

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    • She was my guess along with Kato for next. Great news as I expect her to be the last A+ circuit court judge the rest of Biden’s first term that we see. Only other realistic chance is of Gould or another California judge goes senior.

      Sucks the other two cloture motions were for positions I don’t give a cap about but I will take it. Good news after Wikipedia & their dumb policies put a damper on the day.

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      • @Michael Schaeffer

        Here would be my example of A+ nominees for each of the five circuit court vacancies without a nominee;

        1st – Gilles Bissonnette

        3rd – Ryan Haygood, Rachel Wainer Apter, Farrin Anello & Jeremy Feigenbaum

        4th – Keep in mind Maryland can have a Washington DC attorney that lives across the river, but I will try to keep it as realistic as I can…

        Ajmel Quereshi, Elizabeth Prelogar & Deepak Gupta.

        There are SEVERAL nominees I would be on the fence for but at worst I would give an A to. Those would be (Along with the reason in parenthesis)…

        Erek Barron (We would have to replace his US attorney position & I would like a little bit younger than 49 for a blue state.

        Deborah Boardman – We would have to replace her district court seat & I would like a little bit younger than 49 for a blue state).

        Brendan Hurson – We have already wasted senate time nominating him for the district court. Had he been nominated for the 4th from the beginning, I probably would have given him an A+).

        7th – Jessica Eaglin

        Mario Garcia would be an A but I would be fine if he was chosen over Eaglin because the 7th has never had a Hispanic judge.

        10th – Lauren Bonds

        But to be clear, I don’t think any of the A+’s I mentioned will be the eventual nominee. Definitely not with this WHC office.

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      • @Michael Schaeffer

        I’m really going back & fourth on your question from 3 days ago about who I would consider an A+ nominee for the 5-circuit court vacancies without a nominee. I just saw Erek Barron has a master’s in law. I usually give a little more on my grade for that. I said he was an A in my book a few days ago, but I might have to upgrade him to an A+ as well in addition to my others I mentioned a few days ago. I’ll copy/paste below in case you forgot…

        1st – Gilles Bissonnette

        3rd – Ryan Haygood, Rachel Wainer Apter, Farrin Anello & Jeremy Feigenbaum

        4th – Keep in mind Maryland can have a Washington DC attorney that lives across the river, but I will try to keep it as realistic as I can…

        Ajmel Quereshi, Elizabeth Prelogar & Deepak Gupta… Adding Erek Barron

        7th – Jessica Eaglin

        Mario Garcia would be an A but I would be fine if he was chosen over Eaglin because the 7th has never had a Hispanic judge.

        10th – Lauren Bonds

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  4. I do wonder what the deal with Kato is. I’m not too worried though, Schumer will figure out a way.

    Very, very, VERY excited to see Bloomekatz teed up for a vote. This one has been a long time coming. Hopefully we get 1-2 more openings on the 6th this term.

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  5. I do think the WH will try to get home state approval where possible, but if R senators just absolutely stonewall and the calendar flips to 2024 then I do believe the WH will go it alone if necessary.

    Also, if a seat opens in OH (or WV) I think the WH will be content to listen to just Brown or Manchin like they did for Johnstone and Bloomekatz.

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    • I would hope that you’re right but have little confidence in this WHC going with a nominee who won’t get a blue slip turned in. Perhaps if the Republican straight up obstructed & refused any nominee but even then I’m not so sure they wouldn’t let them delay until after the election.

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      • @Dequan

        I’ve been looking at some of these dark red states. In Oklahoma, Donald Trump appointed 7 of the 9 Federal District Judges. So you’d expect the courts to be hard right.

        It turns out that only one of those judges is considered hard right. Most of Trump’s appointees in Oklahoma, recommended by the two Senators, were not controversial and were confirmed by overwhelming bipartisan margins.

        That indicates that the White House could get the Senators to sign off on a nominee moderate nominee.

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      • I hope you’re right but we haven’t heard a peep out of Oklahoma in 2 & a half years. We heard of potential names from Arkansas, Florida, Texas (A “couple” out of eight vacancies), South Dakota, Idaho before the nomination was made & Wisconsin. They could be keeping it under wraps that tight but I would be surprised if we get any nominees in 2023 without even one Oklahoma news or media outlet breaking the news on a single potential name.

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      • @Mitch. A few names I have in mind from my list for the Northern District of Oklahoma that Senators Lankford and Mullin could realistically agree to.:

        -Magistrate Judge Jodi Jayne (born c. 1977).

        -AUSA Shannon Bears Cozzoni (born c. 1971). She is Native American and was previously First Assistant Attorney General of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

        -AUSA Vani Singhal (born c. 1970). She might’ve made too many donations to Democrats ($7,650 total since 2004) for the Senators’ liking though. She’d be an AAPI first in Oklahoma.

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  8. Amazing to see 5, FIVE, votes lined up tomorrow including a cloture and confirmation vote for Kymberly Kathryn Evanson and cloture for Cartwright.

    Why can’t Chuck do heavy load days like these more often, they’d clear the whole backlog of judges in a month!!!

    I still haven’t forgotten how McConnell confirmed I think 16 judges in December 2020.

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    • @Mike

      That’s what I keep asking. I don’t understand only one vote on Monday’s. And now we have no more Mondays until September 11th so we have 2 day work weeks next week & the week after, five weeks off & then another 2 day work week when they return in September.

      I really wish they were just taking 4 weeks off for the Summer like past years. At least they could have knocked out some more of these positions I could care less about with that extra week.

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      • @Frank

        Oh I know the reason. But even if I bought 100 senate representatives in a country of 330 million should work 3 days a week (I don’t but for the sake of argument let’s say I did agree), that still doesn’t explain one vote on Monday. The vote is at 5:30pm. Even if you give them a hour to vote, they could have a second vote at 6:30pm & even a third at 7:30pm which is usually the time for the last vote on Tuesday & Wednesday.

        I know some have argued Schumer is probably afraid of attendance issues on Monday’s (Tuesday’s from now until September 11th). He could simply line up all non controversial cloture votes on Thursday’s so even if some Democrats miss Monday those nominees would still be confirmed.

        The real problem is holding votes open for a long time. On C-Span they have a 15 minute clock at the bottom of the tv screen. That’s a joke. The clock ends & the vote is held open sometimes 90 minutes or even 2 hours. I understand situations like the Natasha Merle confirmation vote when they were waiting for Bernie Sanders & a couple hours later when he finally got to the senate floor to vote they immediately closed the vote. But a hours long vote is becoming the norm instead of the exception. If they kept it to a hour or less then they could have three votes on Monday’s.

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  10. Judicial commissions update:

    Nusrat Jahan Choudhury Received her commission on July 5th. She’s officially the first woman Muslim federal judge.

    P. Casey Pitts received his on July 7th.

    We are still waiting for Natasha Merle & Dale Ho to receive their commissions.

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  11. Kymberly Evanson confirmed to Western District of Washington. Cartwright cloture vote now happening. By tomorrow, the entire active district court will be Biden appointees. I’d be curious to know when was the last time that happened on such a scale, with all seven judges appointed by one president. Any courts have 100% with more judges than that?

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  16. Watching the hearing this morning, glad to see the two nominees from LA will be on the panel. I must say, while his politics are certainly not mine, I am a big fan of Senator Kennedy (for a Republican…). Looks like both nominees will have a smooth confirmation, as well as the Federal Claims nominee (he has bipartisan support). Pleased to see Kennedy committed to working with the White House Counsel office in good faith, hoping to see another nominee for that other open seat soon in LA.

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    • Here is my recap of today’s SJC hearing;

      Durbin started off talking about the congressional Black caucus letter opposing the two Louisiana nominees.

      Graham talked about the Hunter Biden whistleblower & case overall.

      Cassidy said he yielded his time back after finishing his comments in support about the Louisiana nominee. He then said he wasn’t yielding completely because he was also going to comment on Phillip Hadji because he recommended him along with senator Brown & former senator Portman.

      Kennedy talked about the WHC office. He said it took a while to get to know them but they have gotten to know each other.

      Graham asked Long in January 6th & Hunter Biden’s investigation since he worked with the FBI.

      Booker spoke about the Congressional Black Caucus letter.

      Kennedy asked about Harper v Moore.

      Padilla spoke about diversity on the bench & clerks.

      Blackburn talked to Long about the Hunter Biden “mishandled” investigation.

      Hirono spoke about ethics on the courts. She asked Maddox about his past president over naturalization ceremonies. He spoke about it’s one of the only times people stand before a judge when everybody is happy & smiling.

      Hawley spoke to Long about the Hunter Biden investigation. Hawley was head over heels with fake outrage & surprisingly said he can’t support Long’s nomination (Put on your surprise face).

      Lee spoke to Maddox past work with ACORN & his past membership with the ACS

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  18. Interesting note, the DC Circuit will now have two Dem appointed senior judges, and two Rep appointed senior judges. Judge Sentelle went inactive status a few weeks ago, and Judge Tatel is retiring from the bench in September to focus on pro bono work at his old firm.

    Can we hold out hope for Judge Henderson to go senior in the next year? (I know unlikely, but maybe she wants to be named a university president or Ambassador to the Solomon Islands?) If so, who would everyone want to see as the nominee? I think a Deepak Gupta nomination would be intriguing…

    Liked by 1 person

    • Henderson willingly going senior/retiring under Biden is about as likely as Clarence Thomas reviving affirmative action next term – there aren’t any likely vacancies on CADC for the foreseeable future under a Dem president, and it seems like a waste of energy to speculate about it. Prelogar/Deepak Gupta/etc. are really out of luck unless they get the CA4 seat (though in the equally unlikely chance of another SCOTUS vacancy, Biden could appoint Prelogar directly like Obama did with Kagan).

      I wonder if Prelogar is only interested in a SCOTUS nomination – unlike Paul Clement (for example), I can’t imagine her being so presumptuous as to consider a federal appellate seat beneath her. Yet it also seems crazy that the administration would have picked Garcia over her for the CADC nom if she had wanted it. I understand MALDEF was advocating for a Latino on CADC, but the likelihood that Biden would snub his own SG because of some advocacy group (especially when Biden’s outreach/connections to Latinos is notably weak compared to past Dems) is laughable.

      Liked by 1 person

      • I disagree Biden wouldn’t have bent to the pressure of MALDEF to pick Garcia over his own SG. The idea that Biden would get FOUR picks to the DC circuit & not use one of them to put the first Hispanic on it after all the complaints about the lack of Hispanic nominees is almost as believable as your Clarence Thomas affirmative action ruling.

        Now I will say I completely agree with you that Prelogar could be elevated to the SCOTUS directly from SG with no issue. As I’ve said before regardless of the past, I see no scenario in the future decade or two where any SCOTUS nominee would not be a circuit court judge with few exceptions. SG is one of those exceptions along with a U.S. senator or governor perhaps.

        I have often wondered about Paul Clement. I wonder if he regrets not accepting a DC circuit nomination. I honestly believe with 2 & 3 GW Bush & Trump appointments respectively, he would be a justice today had he taken that route. I know he’s a multi millionaire because he stayed in private practice but I would love to see him openly talk about if he has any regrets.

        Like

      • I don’t believe MALDEF has a voice in this Administration. I wish they would focus on fixing the anti-blackness that is the LA city council.

        This guy Garcia was qualified for the Federal Circuit ,4th Circuit (residency) so I was not surprised he got DC Circuit nomination. In his SJC questionnaire he was open to any circuit nomination.

        I don’t think Biden has a problem with latinos. They chose Sanders over him while black voters stuck with Biden.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Yeah I don’t agree with Shawnee rather than Dequan often, but the idea of MALDEF (or to be honest, any advocacy group) having significant sway with this administration is unfortunately just wishful thinking from us on this blog. Actually having influence would mean that Saenz wouldn’t need to issue public letters blasting the administration like he did last year, and that Latino electeds would have come out in support of that letter when he did issue it (which did not happen). Unlike the CBC and its current dispute with Senate Dems over blue slips, Latino Dems have not made judicial nominations an issue, and it’s not like Biden is close to/feels indebted to any Latino Dems like he is with Clyburn. I’m happy with Garcia for the CADC pick, but the idea that the administration would be cowed into picking him over an SG that really wanted the job ignores how this administration has operated vis-a-vis progressives.

        Also, here’s an article about the CBC making more of a fuss about the LA nominees/blue slips more generally: https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/07-12-2023/cbc-fumes-at-senate-judiciary/.

        At most this just means the administration will consult them more on nominees (which I’m surprised they don’t do, since Mathis got the CA6 nomination because of Memphis’s white Democratic house rep). I think the CBC would be fine with any Black nominee, even hardline former prosecutors, as long as they’re to the left of Clarence Thomas, so I’m surprised it’s an issue.

        Oh and when I was referring to Biden’s weakness among Hispanics, I meant that he underperformed all recent Dems in the 2020 general election.

        Like

      • It really isn’t any of the CBC’s business to tell the Senate how to process judicial nominees. Moreover, it doesn’t make any sense that they will refuse to support the LA nominees. It isn’t needed. lol

        I wish the CBC could find another purpose that is more fruitful than opposing nominees that they have no control over. It sounds ridiculous.

        Like

      • The CBC isn’t telling Republican senators how to pick judges, the request was to Biden. He ultimately is the person who decides if somebody will be nominated or not. And since Black people had a major part of Biden being the nominee/president, the CBC probably has a lot of sway. If you have sway over a process, why not exert it?

        The letter even stated they were not opposing the nominees because of themselves, they were opposing them because of the process. It was a shot across the bow for the future, particularly since the majority of vacancies without a nominee are in states where at least one Republican has blue slip privileges.

        It’s similar to Blackburn & Haggerty making such a huge fuss over Andre Mathis. They wanted to make sure Biden involved (AKA allowed them to slow & gum up the works) Republican senators in future circuit court vacancies. Guess what… It has worked to a certain degree. That’s what the CBC wants as well. Republicans know how to play hardball & the long game. I’m happy to see Democrat groups finally waking up to do the same.

        Like

      • Ok, thanks for the clarification. It’s not Biden’s place to tell the Senate to change their long standing practices. Heck, even Donald Trump didn’t ask the Senate to change their “policy.” Why would someone like Biden be the person to ask the Senate to change?

        You can listen to what people have to say but that doesn’t mean anything will change. Were it me in the Oval Office I wouldn’t give them the time of day for that nonsense.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Well I do agree with you that it probably won’t change much in Louisiana because to be honest, both Kennedy & Cassidy have worked in good faith. They have one vacancy left so I’m sure the both of them will give the lone Black congressman a courtesy call on that vacancy now.

        This is more important for states where we all know the senators are not going to work in good faith (I’m looking at you Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas & Montana). But as I’ve said repeatedly, I don’t think we will get nominees for most of those seats as long as blue slips are in play without one being to the left of John Eastman anyway.

        Like

  19. …so guessing they confirm the EPA administrator tomorrow they’ll vote to invoke cloture on Bloomekatz then she won’t be confirmed until next week.

    Well, it was a fun week with 3 confirmations while it lasted.

    I get that you have to confirm other government employees, but honestly, Chuck can’t just spend one week only confirming judges, he can’t do just ONE WEEK!?

    Like

    • Same thing I said. Just one full week on judges would be great. Especially with 2 day work weeks next week & the week after followed by 5 weeks off. I really wish he would threaten to cancel a couple weeks of the Summer recess if Tuberville doesn’t drop his military hold. Not only would it make Democrsts look stronger on the military but also push Republican senators to pressure him to drop his hold harder.

      But some very good news out of the SJC today regarding Matthew Maddox. I had no idea he was a past member of both ACORN & the ACS. I may now have to add him to my list of future 4th circuit possibilities with that knowledge now, particularly being young & a Black man.

      Like

  20. I’m not going to complain too much. Schumer has almost entirely worked through the backlog of 2021/2022 nominees.

    Once Bloomekatz is confirmed, there will only be 6 nominees remaining from the prior congress. And overall there will only be 13 nominees (2 appellate and 11 district) remaining at all if you exclude the May nominees. And this is assuming there are no further confirmations the next two weeks.

    Considering where we were a few months ago it’s been refreshing indeed.

    Like

  21. I often wonder why Schumer doesn’t more often schedule multiple nominees from the same state at the same time, as he did with WAW this week. We know he doesn’t go in any kind of order (see Kenly Kato, for example), so it would make sense to fill the MA district court today rather than let Kobick sit on the docket any longer.

    But hey, that’s just me wanting more confirmations. Like others have said, I don’t see why a 15-minute vote takes 2 hours, nor why they can’t hold multiple votes on Monday or work an occasional Friday.

    (Actually, I do have a guess that Schumer is scheduling short weeks because the ’24 Senate calendar is tough for Democrats, and he’s letting them maximize their time in state to campaign).

    Liked by 1 person

    • Rumor has it some of the Western senators were complaining about the travel time & shortened weekend. I’ve always said I wish they would just eliminate Monday’s altogether in exchange for a full Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. Monday is only one vote. I’d rather they just come in & have the first vote Tuesday at 1130 until 8pm. Have that same schedule Wednesday & Thursday at least work until 6pm.

      And while I don’t expect 15-minute votes regularly, at least knock it down to 45 minutes except that one off’s when a senator is stuck in traffic or trying to get to DC. An hour & a half votes are much more common than anything close to 15 minutes. That should eliminate the complaining & we would get a few more votes out of the week. With that schedule a Western senator could take a red eye flight Monday night if they want & be back early Tuesday morning with over 4 hours to spare before the first vote. I’m sure there has to be late flights Thursday nights to the West coast so they could have all day Friday, Saturday, Sunday & most of Monday at home or time to fundraise.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Hmm another Manchin no on a person of color nominee (though not for a judgeship, but still) – interesting that Manchin’s no’s have been Abudu, Ho, Choudhury, and Merle. Other nominees he’s been vocal about tanking are Neera Tanden and Saule Omarova, though I recognize that he also opposed Sarah Bloom Raskin (a white woman) for the Fed.

        I don’t think Manchin is actively racist and voting against people because they’re not white or a man, but this does seem to confirm my belief that women/people of color are perceived as more progressive than white people with similar backgrounds.

        I could also see headlines saying “Racist Joe Manchin opposes Biden’s nonwhite nominees” would more likely to win than lose him votes in West Virginia give that its Aest Virginia, so perhaps he is being more intentional and hoping someone notices. Either way, you would think Politico or someone seeking to stir up drama would be pointing this out.

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      • Yeah, that was a terrific deal. My friend is a Global Services Member with United and he’s spent more than $290,000 on flights in last 2 decades, but even he is no where near 23 million miles. United gives a member lifetime Global Services status if you fly 4 million miles total and he was telling me even that is going to take many more years to get to..

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    • @Joe

      Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe all of Manchin’s no votes for judges has been when all Republicans voted no too. I can’t speak for non-judges since I don’t follow them as much, but I can’t think of any of the judges he voted no on getting any Republican support. I think Bloomekatz will get at least one GOP yes vote.

      Like

    • Lots of nonsense from the CBA. Do you really think they are speaking for Booker and Warnock? The blue slip policy isn’t changing now and not for the CBC.

      Today’s wasn’t good day to present this old complaint about blue slips. You had 2 nominees from a red state and another judge (non article III) who had support from a red state (GOP) senator.

      There are only a handful of states left without nominees so I don’t see blue slips going away. Let’s focus elsewhere.

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      • I thought all but one line in the letter was spot on. I disagree with changing the policy to only require one senator to return a blue slip. If you did they then the reasonable Republican senator simply wouldn’t return theirs out of solidarity with their colleague.

        And those “ handful of states left without nominees” you’re taking about has a LOT of seats. Texas – 8, Florida – 7, Missouri – 3. Then there’s Alabama. Arkansas, South Dakota, Montana & others.

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      • The 3 SDFL nominees should be finished vetting by either the next batch or the end of August. Ben Crumps & Florida Black leaders are also complaining none of the 3 were Black which would leave the district without a Black woman. I think the deal will be saved though since there is a fourth vacancy that a Black woman could be named to. Plus the ages on many of the active judges is pretty old so there could be an additional vacancy or 2.

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  25. Greetings
    Good to see Tiffany Cartwright confirmed, VP Harris tied with the uber-slaver John C. Calhoun, and his tormented soul writhing in hell at the soon-to-be reality of a black woman breaking his centuries old record.
    Bloomekatz’s day is tomorrow.
    (I plan on watching today’s SJC hearing later. Hope it was spicy.)

    Like

    • @Gavi

      Agree with everything except one thing. I think Tuesday is gonna be International Bloomekatz Day because only the cloture vote is tomorrow. When it was Dale Ho he had both the cloture & confirmation vote on the same day (What a time to be alive). But I’m all for celebrating International Bloomekatz WEEK if you are.

      I think she is likely going to be the last A+ circuit court nominee we get until at the earliest 2025 unless maybe if judge should goes senior & we get Whitehead as his replacement. We would need two more California circuit court judges to leave the bench in order to have a chance at an A+ pick since the next pick would be a Feinstein pick. So let’s celebrate & enjoy it while it last… Lol

      Liked by 1 person

    • We will be lucky to get a batch at all in July. I hope they don’t hold off until August since it doesn’t matter releasing the names in July, they still have to wait until September for their hearings just like if they were announced in August. Of course we can hope for a repeat of last year where we got three batches in a week. But of course it’s probably more likely to see Samuel Alito join a Planned Parenthood picket line than to see that repeated from THIS WHC office.

      Like

    • It’s really messed up what Cardin and Biden are doing to the 4th Circuit vacancy. I blame them both. Cardin, for blocking a circuit court nomination. Biden, for not exercising his constitutional right to make nominations, regardless of opposition, even from a senator of his own party, and even if he’s not inclined to do so (I hope I covered all my bases, Frank). Books should be written about this malpractice.
      I don’t follow advocacy groups, so I don’t know what they are saying. But anyone have any idea if any of them is calling out Cardin/Biden on this vacancy? Is anyone a member of any such group? Can you please please please put this on their radar?

      Re: yesterday’s hearing
      Kevin Collins broke his months of silence on here earlier this week to make a nonsensical statement about the role of WHC in the nominations process. If he’d only waited four more days, he would have had the benefit of Sen. Kennedy’s lesson yesterday, sparing me the burden of responding.

      I, like Frank, am not surprised that some Rs went after Long. Kennedy does his own thing on judges, even in the Trump years. Blackburn never saw a Trump nominee she couldn’t support, even his Kennedy objected. Kennedy advanced Mattis over Blackburn’s strident objections. Blackburn voted against all Biden’s pick for LA and will only continue to do so. Expect this dynamic to continue between these senators.

      Besides, the FBI, as Frank highlighted, is now an object of mandatory Republican hate. In that spirit, I wish Biden could find more progressive FBI personnel to nominate to federal judgeships!

      Bloomekatz cloture today. Yay! To think Trump had at least five (5!) appellate nominees whose cloture motion was invoked by voice votes!

      Like

      • @Gavi

        NOPE to answer your question. I follow numerous advocacy groups & haven’t heard a peep about the 4th. The only mention at all was from that one article we all spoke about here from earlier this year. I’m truly angry we still don’t have a nominee. Particularly with two district court nominees who either would have been good picks. Especially after seeing Mike Lee go after Matthew Maddox yesterday about his last membership with ACORN & ASC.

        I truly wish Biden would have just nominated whoever the more progressive nominee is over Cardin’s objections. He is leaving in a year & a half so I’m sure he’s trying to give this prime seat to somebody he’s close to on his way out the door. Playing Russian Roulette with this seat may put him on par with my anger towards him as my anger towards Leahy not budging in blue slips when he was SJC chairman under Obama. Especially with a midterm election that was showing Republicans having a good shot at regaining the majority.

        Liked by 2 people

      • Russian roulette? Let’s not exaggerate . Cardin has a right to weigh in on a nominee in his state.

        I think Biden is dealing with more weighty issues than any particular nominee. I don’t think Biden is hung up on ideology.

        It’s not going to hurt to let this process play out. They know what they are doing.

        Like

      • Exaggerate? All historically norms showed Democrats were likely to lose at least one seat in the midterms. A loss if one seat means majority leader McConnell, which means no nominee confirmed for the 4th. You can sit here & say let the process play out only because young people saved the midterms & Trump got idiots nominated to run for the senate. So yes, Russian Roulette… Lol

        Like

      • WWBD? If you were Biden, what would you do with the 4th circuit vacancy? Would you give Cardin the nominee he wants or would you risk leaving the seat open?

        I’m honestly not sure what I’d do in this situation. If Biden picks his progressive nominee, much of the Democratic Party would “stand up for” Cardin just as the entire GOP (minus Collins & Kennedy) “stand up for” hacks like Blackburn, Hagerty, & Johnstone even though blue slips aren’t a thing anymore. And progressives won’t get any GOP votes. On the other hand, if Biden lets Cardin have his choice, he’s basically placing no limits on how much senators of his own party can bully him.

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      • @Ryan Joshi

        It depends on how bad Cardin’s nominee is. If it’s Stephanie Gallagher, no way. Same thing if it’s somebody old. Honestly this should have been settled behind the scenes in a smoked filled room. This is where you make deals. There were TWO district court vacancies. Work out a deal using those. Name a post office after him. Name his niece Ambassador to The Netherlands.

        But there are only 179 circuit court seats. Trump filled 54 of them. You can’t waste these precious seats. Biden & Cardin should have worked this out over a game of Poker & the nominee should have gotten a SJC hearing before the midterms the Democrats were projected to lose.

        Like

      • Yeah I agree that it depends on who the nominee is and why Cardin is withholding. If it’s because Cardin wants someone who’s lived in Maryland their whole life, there are plenty of good progressive lawyers who’ve lived in Maryland their whole life. If it’s because Cardin has ties with the nominee (i.e. if he wants Biden to nominate his friend, relative, or friend’s relative), then I’m not sure what Biden should do because that’s something senators won’t back down from.

        If this fails, Biden will be stripped of filling not 1 but 2 seats on the 4th circuit, since the first headache happened when Robert King rescinded. Could easily cost Democrats the majority on the 4th circuit.

        Like

    • I think the next hard deadline to avoid missing a SJC hearing is August 9th. I would expect a batch on or before that date, but probably not multiple batches. The WH has been pretty consistent about a slow drip of nominees (and honestly there is some wisdom to that as long as you do not actually miss a hearing date).

      Personally I would love to see a batch with multiple circuit nominees next. A batch with 7th circuit, 10th circuit, D Kansas, and two ND Indiana nominees would be a dream, but I will take whatever as long as it’s a full batch.

      Like

      • Seeing the Jerry Edwards Jr. SJC questionnaire gives me hope. From the time of first point of contact to the day he was nominated was lightning fast, & that’s in a red state. That means the FBI background checks are going much quicker than the first two years as expected.

        So my guess is many of the names we have heard rumored will probably be ready for the next batch, especially if it’s late July or next month. Gowen or Shelley for NDIL, the 3 SDFL, whichever of the South Carolina woman are picked & Jeffrey Bryan for Minnesota are likely. Finally a nominee for the 4th & 7th would be great too. I’d suspect at least 1 or 2 of the 3 vacancies in California has to be ready if not all 3. Most likely Claire Connors for one of the Hawaii seats should be a quick vetting given her current position.

        Like

  28. All but one nominee was voted to the floor from the SJC executive meeting. Alikhan was sent to the floor 11-10. DeClerq got& Oliver also sent to the floor however Republicans asked to have Munley held over amid her week to answer more questions & Durbin agree to the request.

    Like

    • In fairness, the holding over of Munley is regular order. Republicans agreed to consider the nominees from the last canceled business meeting as being held over, even though it’s not per the rule. They could have held over all the nominees, who were all appearing for the first time on the agenda of a meeting that’s actually taken place.
      On the other hand, to me, Munley’s nomination is a Republican’s dream for a blue state. But I guess I’m just crazy.

      Like

      • @Gavi

        Still 100%. The vote was 50-45 with 5 Republicans missing it. Manchin’s no vote was the only flip from either side. I still would have liked to see a harder push to get Rubio’s vote. It still would have been unlikely in the end, but if he’s gonna vote yes on any of the 37 circuit court nominees so far besides Ramirez (Who Republicans should be carrying to the 5th circuit courthouse), I figured Bloomekatz would be the best hope since she filed an amicus brief for him about 9 years ago.

        But it’s ok. Hopefully VP Harris can break the tie on the confirmation vote next week. A Black woman breaking the tie to confirm a 40-year-old Jewish woman should be enough to make VP Calhoun turn over in his grave… Lol

        Liked by 2 people

      • I love when the VP gets to break ties, and breaking a record like this is humongous, especially when snatching the record from a racist slave owner.

        On the same note, I have a pair of confessions to make: Until a few months ago, I was hoping for Dianne Feinstein to serve 2 more terms in order to break Senate longevity records of oldest senator & longest serving, which are currently held by 2 avowed racists (Strom Thurmond & Robert Byrd). Additionally, until Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, I was happy that she didn’t retire under Obama because I was hoping for her to stay on the court until age 91 to break the record for oldest justice.

        Like

      • I remember when John Paul Stevens retired at the end of the term in 2010, had he stayed on the court 1 more week he would have broken the record for second longest serving justice. Kagan wasn’t confirmed until August 2010 so had he just waited until confirmation of his successor, he would have been number 2.

        Now that I think of it, both of Obama’s justices were confirmed in August. Now these senators are taking 5 weeks off for the Summer. Sad

        Like

      • Sotomayor & Kagan were both confirmed right before the August recess after their predecessors retired on June 29 of the respective year.

        Stevens said he didn’t care about breaking records, and Souter just wanted to get out of DC. This was also before the shadow docket really took off. I think justices today would be much more reluctant to retire without a confirmed successor because of the shadow docket as well as the hyperpartisanship of the confirmation process.

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      • Steven’s and Souter had the right of it. These records are relatively meaningless and only known by an absolutely tiny pet of the population.

        Much more important that they find an ideologically similar successor. I hate that RBG had to be the one who became an example.

        Like

    • Yea Manchin a no on Bloomekatz was a little surprising to me too. 5 Republicans were out. Look for Schumer to schedule the confirmation vote for Tuesday or Wednesday based on VP Barris schedule. But as I’ve said I would happily have her crush racist slave owning VP Calhoun’s record of it means we wait a little longer to get A+ judges like Bloomekatz.

      Liked by 1 person

  30. Manchin’s act is a bit weird. Personally I think he’d be better served by voting more like Tester and maintaining popularity in his own party. But we will see, the proof will be in the pudding in November 2024.

    Either way, very excited to see Bloomekatz confirmed next week. Sounds like the rest of the week will be related to the Defense Bill.

    Like

    • Looks like Schumer is finally taking my advice. Schumer had TWO VOTES scheduled for the return on Tuesday. I hope this becomes the norm instead of the normal one vote regardless of if the first day back is Monday or Tuesday.

      The Senate next convenes at 3pm on Tuesday, July 18th.
      2 votes at 5:30pm:
      1)Confirmation of Rachel Bloomekatz to be US Circuit Judge for the 6th Circuit
      2)Cloture on the motion to proceed to S.2226, FY2024 NDAA

      Like

  32. @Ryan Joshi

    1: That’s the easiest of quandaries. NONE of those two options you list. I would neither give Cardin his pick nor leave the seat open.

    2: I totally disagree with you that much of the Dems would stand up to Biden.

    First, you are incorrectly using an apples to oranges comparison when you say: “just as the entire GOP (minus Collins & Kennedy) “stand up for” hacks like Blackburn.” You have to use inter-party support, not cross-party. Republicans by and large aren’t tripping over themselves to vote for Biden’s nominees. So a Biden anti-Cardin nominee isn’t comparable to Mattis. It’s comparable to Trump’s nomination of Kyle Duncan, over Kennedy’s objection and unreturned blue slip. Republicans didn’t take Kennedy’s side, and even Kennedy eventually supported Duncan in the end.
    Also, Collins does not support Biden’s COA nominees who do not have Republican blue slip.

    Second, Biden could lean into identity politics and nominate a black lesbian immigrant who’s a pro-abortion litigator. NO non-Manchin Dem would take Cardin’s side and vote against her because of his negative blue slip.
    So yeah, I think you missed the mark on this one.

    Like

  34. For Rubio, I believe he (and Rick Scott for that matter) voted to confirm Gustavo Gelpi to the First Circuit, so he has voted for a Biden circuit nominee. If I had to guess, since Gelpi sits on the Puerto Rico seat on the First Circuit, it was probably an olive branch to Florida’s large Puerto Rican population?

    Even with Gelpi being a Bush nominee to the district court, he only would have gotten 5 Republican votes on a full attendance vote (Rubio, Scott, and then the usual Graham/Collins/Murkowski trio).

    Like

      • How many law clerks a judge hires for the next term is usually a good tell. I wonder how many times a SCOTUS justice or circuit court judge has not hired the allotted law clerks they could have for the next term but not leave the bench.

        On another note, Myong J. Joun received his commission today. We are still waiting for Merle, Evanson, Cartwright & of course the main event Dale Ho.

        Like

      • David Souter didn’t hire a full set of clerks in 2009, leading to retirement rumors before he announced his retirement. These days, justices generally hire a full set of clerks even if they do retire so that their retirement isn’t obvious (those clerks then get shared with other justices)

        Like

      • I always wondered what happened to law clerks if the judges successor is of a different party. Like for instance, I don’t believe ACB used any of RBG’s clerks. What happened to them? I’m sure Breyer, Sotomayor & Kagan already had their clerks picked. They just crap out of luck?

        Like

    • When you have 2 senators of the same party you don’t have to negotiate with a house member of a different party.

      You want to be involve in judicial nominations? You can run for the senate or against Eleanor Holmes Norton.

      I have come on here on many occasions and you are crying about how long it takes for someone to nominated. Now, you want house members who work in a more dysfunctional body to gum up the works.

      It’s wasting time!

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  38. For @Shawnee & those that don’t think the Congressional Black Caucus has any business in Louisiana judicial nominations, I thought I would look back at recent history. Take a look at the bottom of the SJC questionnaire for Kurt D. Engelhardt below.

    Not only did he meet with one congressman, he met with FIVE. The CBC is only asking for potential nominees to meet with the ONE Democrat congressman now that we have a Democrat president. I think that is more than fair.

    (https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Engelhardt%20SJQ.pdf)

    Like

  40. I’ve been reading the comments and posts for a bit. Definitely lots of food for thought, even if I don’t agree with all of it.

    My question: Biden aside, who do you think the most awful deals for circuit courts have been from each party? Why or why not? Were they ultimately worth it?

    District judges if you want as well but there are so many of those.

    Also, I must say that as someone from Ohio I’m so incredibly excited to see Bloomekatz be confirmed next week. There aren’t that many bright spots around here. We’ve got a 6th circuit full of Trump judges that flies under the radar more than it should.

    Like

  41. Y’all not gonna believe this. The Let’s Run idiot that is trying to pull all of judicial nominees pages down on Wikipedia is now spying on us here on this blog. Look at the link at the bottom. He’s taking screenshots of our conversations & posting them on Wikipedia to try & get sympathy. Excuse my French but what a miserable low life piece of shit.

    Let’s Run, if you’re reading this why don’t you comment? Why don’t you talk here instead of spying. Of course we wouldn’t be bound by Wikipedia’s rules here so we could tell you to make the world a better place & jump out of the window of a very tall building, without having to worry about being banned here… Lol

    Look, our comments on this blog are constitutionally protected by the first amendment. Perhaps if you spent less time trying to get judges pages taken down & more time reading about the judiciary, you might know that. Try getting out of your mothers basement for once & going out of the real world. You can’t ban us on her, only Harsh can do that. So either comment on here so we can talk man to man (Of course you would have to find a man to talk for you) or stop spying on us. But certainly feel free to take my advice about the jump out of a tall buildings window any day you feel like it.

    (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents?markasread=286223994&markasreadwiki=enwiki#c-Let'srun-20230716131300-BD2412-20230716025600)

    Like

      • @Frank

        You are wise beyond your years. When I would get angry at somebody & come to her she would tell me in her sweet innocent voice “God bless their heart”… Lol

        It’s tough seeing somebody with issues spy & attack without responding back. I was legitimately angry when I found out he was screenshoting our comments on the blog & posting them on Wikipedia. I will try to take a deep breath & not respite to his antics but it’s not easy.

        Like

      • @NT

        Welcome to the blog. Are you one of the Wikipedia idiots that have been coming on to this blog & taking peoples comments, putting them in Wikipedia without their permission? One of the Wikipedia assholes spying on people & stalking them? If so, feel free to take the same advice I gave the other idiot. Perhaps try a higher floor please.

        Sorry to tell you but you can’t ban anybody here. It’s is a jury of one & you’re not the one, Harsh is in charge here. And yes if somebody is stalking me, obsessed with me & spying on me, then jumping out of a window of a tall building is the best advice I could give that person.

        It must suck to have such a miserable life. Hopefully one day it gets better so you can log off Wikipedia, go outside & actually live a life worth two nickels to rub together. But in the meantime continue being a Wikipedia gangster. I’m sure it makes you feel good in your mothers basement… Lol

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  42. Not sure why Gregory, a solid liberal on CA4, is holding off on going senior – the OSCAR post is not meaningful since it says he’s hiring 4 clerks (which suggests he isn’t going senior) for 2025-2026. Also, if he waits until summer 2024 to go senior as his posting would suggest, I highly doubt this administration would get it together enough to confirm a replacement before 2025 (where Dems are more likely than not to lose the Senate.

    The fact that conservative judges always let Republicans fill their replacements where liberals refuse to know when it’s time to step back (most notably RBG) is partly why the courts are as bad as they currently are.

    In the case of a Gregory vacancy, I’d much rather see Hanes or Nachmanoff be nominated as former federal defenders rather than yet another prosecutor like Tolliver Giles or Walker. This is where I agree with Gavi that sacrificing proven progressive credentials for race/gender/etc is counterproductive – especially when it’s VA and I’m sure they could find somebody both diverse and progressive rather than just another prosecutor. That said, I fully recognize that given this WHC it’s likely going to be a boring nominee, probably Tolliver Giles.

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    • @Hank

      Elizabeth Hanes would be great. Nachmanoff is too old for my liking. As for Jamar Walker, my support for him despite not having a solid progressive background was in comparing him to the other two district court judges not selected when Heytens was chosen. They eeee born in 1960 & 1963 respectively so I would jump for joy if Walker was the choice over them.

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      • The VA senators weren’t being serious last time – they clearly wanted Heytens and gave two district judges that would’ve likely been the oldest COA nominees by a Dem president in a blue state.

        I’d rather have an older progressive than a young moderate – the young moderate would hinder the law from moving in a more balanced direction for decades, while an older progressive can go senior sooner under a Dem president.

        Honestly this is pretty moot since Gregory doesn’t seem to be going senior, but I agree that Walker would be a better pick than Tolliver Giles – they’re both AUSAs and at least Walker mostly did financial crimes/public corruption. But neither are ideal picks when we have former federal defenders on the bench, and they shouldn’t get a break just for being Black without also being progressive when there are plenty of qualified candidates who are both.

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      • Yea I agree. As long as Warner & Kaine are being serious this time & give the administration all serious options, then I’m sure there are more progressive options that are also young. I am not as confident as you are that they will be more serious the next time in part because the administration didn’t push back when they preferred them two ridiculous choices & Heytens. And I see no way THIS WHC would push back more than the last office would. But we can hope. We just need Gregory to go senior now.

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      • District court judge is a very important job. But that doesn’t mean you never circuit court judgeships vacant because they are very important. So yea we will speculate as to who will fill those positions. As I’ve said before, this is a lot about the judiciary. We talk about judges here… Lol

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  43. I’ve been looking at Wyoming. Barack Obama appointed three Federal judges there, including Gregory Phillips of the 10th. Circuit. Senator John Barrasso helped negotiate those nominations and provided support that was key to their confirmations.

    Barasso is still a Senator. I don’t see why he wouldn’t be willing to work in good faith like he did with the Obama Administration.

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    • @Mitch

      Yea Wyoming wasn’t on my list of states I don’t see the Republican senators working in good faith. I think we will get another Idaho type judge for their.

      As for Virginia, I totally agree. That’s why I am hoping for Jamar Walker if Gregory goes senior. I don’t think we will get an A+ or even A nominee so mine as well get a historic pick that’s good but not great. Although I did up my initial grade for Heytens. I initially gave him an A- but he’s turned out to be a fantastic judge so far.

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      • Heytens & Enuice Lee are the two Biden circuit court judges that have far exceeded what I thought when they were nominated & have made me raise my grade for both. Veronica Rossman is a close third.

        Unfortunately, now that Virgina has a Republican AG & other statewide official, I doubt we would get another nominee as good as Heytens. Especially with this WHC office.

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  44. Just saw Ramaswamy’s Supreme Court list. First off, I should note that I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad idea for a presidential candidate to issue these lists, in the interest of transparency and voter information.

    Second, I’m so glad he has absolutely no chance to become President.

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      • It’s inappropriate to release a list of names to help a candidate to get elected. Not everyone wants to be on the Supreme Court and even less than that want to be part of a political campaign.

        We don’t need more politics at the court. Anytime someone suggests something that Trump has done as idea worth considering is a non starter.

        The man is morally and ethically bankrupt yet there are “progressives” chomping at the bit to enact his corrupt practices.

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      • @Frank

        Trump updated his list a total of 3 or 3 times. None of his 3 SCOTUS picks came from his first list. He did elevate many from his first list to the circuit courts however.

        @shawnee68

        Why would it be inappropriate for a candidate to tell voters who he would consider to the highest court? I can’t think of something more appropriate. I care about the courts. Personally it’s my number one issue when I vote. Me knowing who a candidate would nominate to the courts is completely inbounds. I do agree totally with your last two sentences though.

        Liked by 2 people

      • It’s inappropriate because you haven’t asked if people are interested or want their names circulated for a political campaign.

        We have general idea of the type of person who would be chosen so we should just leave it at that.

        I am beginning to think that people want a left wing dictator in the likeness of Trump. He has many admirers on this this blog.

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      • I don’t think any presidential candidate would put a normal Joe on their list. These are circuit court judges, politicians & people deep within the government. It’s likely the candidate has met most of the people on the list & knows if they are not interested. I don’t see how that makes you a wannabe dictator like Trump. I think trying to over throw a free & fair election makes you a wannabe dictator.

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  46. I agree. Would be nice to see the next Dem candidate do that. Doesn’t make a much sense for Biden because he could just point to his 38 appellate nominees.

    Although it would be very fun for Biden to list Holly Thomas, Garcia, Abudu, Rikelman, and Nathan and watch conservatives heads explode.

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    • Goodwin Liu is one of the few I would be perfectly fine with getting nominated to the SCOTUS despite being over 50 & not a circuit court judge. I’m trying to think of anybody else in both categories but drawing a blank right now. Of course Dale Ho would be in the latter category but he’s under 50. Same with Liu’s fellow Justice Kruger.

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  48. I wonder if Gregory is waiting on going senior because he doesn’t like what Va senators did last time. Or thinks that based on the Md vacancy the WHC doesn’t have it’s act together.

    Either way, yes, we are running out of time.

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  50. May have been already been asked/answered but, any ideas on how many judges will get confirmed before the August recess?

    Schumer only has two weeks left, and Senate is off both today and next Monday. Assuming next Tuesday is like this Tuesday, meaning only one confirmation vote (Bloomekatz tomorrow).

    It looks like they may only try to clear the remaining 2022 district court nominees (not sure if they’ll even get through all of them!), but at least Gaston, a 2023 nominee (SDCA), seems to think she’ll get confirmed before the August recess based on her post calling for law clerk applications before then.

    My guess is they’ll confirm 6 judges at most, I’m really not sure who they are, but hopefully Kato, Lin, Kobick, and Edelman.

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    • @jkaczor, off topic, but are you or are you related to USAF Colonel Joy Kaczor, White House Communications Agency Commander and one of the many military promotions held up by Senator Tommy Tuberville (for those who don’t know, I’m also involved in editing military leader profiles on Wikipedia).

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    • @jkaczor,

      I suspect we are done with judges until after the recess. This week is almost certainly going to be focused on the military budget bill. Possibly some of next week too. Maybe Schumer will surprise me and slide in 1-2 more at the end of next week before adjournment.

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