Some of President Barack Obama’s nominees for federal judgeships may have to undergo second confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, some committee aides say.
The possibility of extra hearings for at least some of Obama’s nominees surfaced on Jan. 5, when Obama renominated all but one of his choices whose names he has sent to the Senate in the past two years, but who have yet to receive confirmation.
The committee chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), has already scheduled committee votes for nine nominees next Thursday, presumably because they are not controversial. Aides to Leahy and the ranking Republican on the committee, Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, are understood to be discussing which of the other nominees should undergo second hearings.
One nominee likely to receive considerably scrutiny is Goodwin Liu, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who is Obama’s choice for a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. That panel is widely regarded as the most liberal of the federal circuits, so nominees for it are likely to be closely watched by conservative Republicans.
Before the November elections, Democrats enjoyed a 12-7 advantage on the committee. But because of gains by Republicans that margin is sure to be narrowed when the Senate reorganization is complete.
Confirm Them….afterall, they are the President’s picks! My hope is also that a qualified African-American or person of color is vetted & nominated for the final vacancy currently listed on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.