The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved the nomination of Northern Iowa U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose to the federal bench.
Stephanie Rose
But a full Senate vote on her nomination to the federal bench in the Southern District of Iowa will be delayed until the committee looks into a lawsuit brought last month by a former prosecutor in Rose’s office.
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said Thursday that the issue was raised after her hearing with the committee last month. The committee will review the lawsuit and any related issues, delaying a confirmation vote pending the completion of the review, he said.
About two weeks after Rose’s committee hearing, a lawyer in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Iowa filed suit against her boss, the nominee, for discrimination, harassment and fostering a hostile work environment based on the lawyer’s age and disabilities.
Rose has said the claims are meritless.
The longtime prosecutor received a “unanimously well qualified” rating from the American Bar Association. She was the first woman to take the Northern Iowa U.S. Attorney position and if confirmed she will be the first woman to serve as a U.S. District Judge in the Southern District of Iowa.
