Judicial Nominations Push 'Strongly' Supported By White House, Kathryn Ruemmler Says

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) picked up a ringing endorsement from the White House on Tuesday for trying to force Republicans to vote on President Barack Obama's stalled judicial nominees.

"The bottom line is the White House strongly supports Leader Reid's move," White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said in a conference call with reporters. "The president is demanding the Senate do its job. ... The executive branch and Congress have a responsibility to ensure the third branch, the judiciary, can function. Obama has lived up to his responsibility. It's time for the legislative branch, Congress, to live up to theirs."

Reid filed a procedural motion on Monday that forces the Senate to begin debate on 17 district court nominees whose confirmation Republicans have been filibustering for months.

Reid's move means the Senate will vote Wednesday afternoon to begin 30 hours of debate on each of the nominees. If Democrats are able to get to 60 votes, which requires some Republicans to vote with them, then the 30 hours of debate start on the first of the 17 nominees. If they don't get the 60 votes to begin debate, then Democrats will move on to the second nominee on the list and line up another vote for beginning 30 hours of debate on that nominee.

A senior Senate Democratic aide explained that if all of the votes to begin debate fail, it will take the Senate about six hours to get through them all. if any of them succeed, it could take "anywhere from 6 hours to three weeks" to move through the package, said this aide. The expediency of the process depends on how many of those procedural votes succeed and whether Republicans waive their right to have 30 hours of debate on each one.

Ruemmler criticized Republicans for using "every delay tactic available to them to slow the nominations process down to a halt," despite the president's nominees being "unquestionably qualified." She recounted the story of one Florida judicial nominee, Judge Adalberto Jordan, who had the support of Florida Sens. Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R), but whose confirmation vote was still delayed by Republicans for four months. When the vote finally came up, Jordan was confirmed 94-5.

This "shows how unnecessary and ridiculous it was to go through these extraordinary measures," Ruemmler said.

Ruemmler dismissed the idea that the White House is pushing for fast action on the nominees because time is running out to get much done before the election. She pointed to September 2008 voice votes, in which the Senate cleared 10 district court nominees, as proof that if the process is "working correctly, it should work."

Asked if Obama is prepared to install his judicial nominees by recess appointment, Ruemmler said she didn't want to "speculate." She also wouldn't say if the president has been reaching out to individual Republican senators to try to win their support for holding confirmation votes. But she said at least one Republican, Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.), has signaled that he doesn't want to keep blocking Obama's nominees just to drag out the process.

"I think it shows some real statesmanship" that Coburn has criticized the practice of using courts "as political payback" against Obama, Ruemmler said. "I agree wholeheartedly with Sen. Coburn's sentiments."

Comments

[berrycuda]

11:14 AM on 03/14/2012

I'm for this, as long as the Dems are trying to install REAL judges and not political activist to these positions.
The Dems and to a lesser extent the R's are appointing extremely partisian activist to more and more bench positions, is WRONG, IMMORAL and should stop, as NOTHING positive will come out of this ploy to legislate from the bench.

TERM LIMIT ALL JUDGES!
Absolutly NO reason not too.

[retromoderne]

10:51 AM on 03/14/2012

He needs to appoint a whole bunch more judges than he has even named so far. The Republicans are to blame for not bringing them up for a vote, but there are way more openings that he hasn't even addressed.

[BillCPA]

10:45 AM on 03/14/2012

Uh, Harry, you might want to bring them up for a vote in the Senate before you complain about any filibuster. Most of them were approved in Senate Judiciary Committee hearings by large numbers of Republicans.

There hasn't even been a vote scheduled on these folks.

Quit trying to make political hay on this. There are enough valid issues to discuss.

[TechYes]

10:33 AM on 03/14/2012

It's important to remember that this isn't just a presidential election year. It's equally important to make sure the TeaOP doesn't take over the Senate and that Dems reclaim the House. Otherwise, the republicans will go whole hog with stacking ALL the courts with right wingers.

[OmnesOmnibus]

10:28 AM on 03/14/2012

Make the recess appointments, all of them, the courts, the agencies, ambassadorships. This congress is in permanent lockdown.

[Jared Jentzsch]

10:09 AM on 03/14/2012

Maybe they can add the Keystone Pipe line to that and get it passed. It gets attached to everything else.

[theerrantsoul]

09:55 AM on 03/14/2012

People don't really pay much attention to the continuous filibustering of judicial appointments by Congressional Republicans, but the stakes for this are high.  They're betting on winning a majority, and the more appointments they block, the more right-wing activist judges they'll have the opportunity to appoint if they do well in the elections.  With full political control of the judiciary -- a disturbing concept -- they'll be able to abuse that branch to undemocratically overturn laws which do not meet their ideology.  We know they have both the means and the inclination to do it -- we've already seen the damage they've done with their tenuous majority in the SCOTUS.

We need to make a stink about this.

[cajundave]

10:08 AM on 03/14/2012

I was thinking the very same thing. If Obama wants to protect this country from radical right wing judges, he's better get ready to make recess appointments.

[stop the politics]

10:24 AM on 03/14/2012

This is not just a Republican thing. It was happening with the Democrats under Bush. It is a system wide failure. Whichever side does not have the Presidency tries to stop all judicial appointments. The only ones that are real hard to stop are Supreme Court since there is so much media attention on those (they actually have to vote on them). But the appellate and district court judges are stopped all the time by both parties without a vote.

[Paulo1]

09:25 AM on 03/14/2012

The White House strongly supports....?????

Time to get out the boots. It will get rather deep just before Obama caves in and gives the Republicans what they want and forces Reid to go along.

"strongly suppports"in Obama terms translates as "I'm fully prepared to cave again"

[Itaught30yrs]

09:23 AM on 03/14/2012

Can't wait for the Republicans to blast this...like everything else they blast and block. The senate is controlled by the Democrats and run by the Republicans through the filibuster. Why isn't anything getting done in congress? Well, can you say "filibuster" to not allow any debating. No debate...no... legislation..... no bills... no laws... no budgets... and their ultimate goal... no president Obama. Doing anything for America is a distant second on their list of important things.

[kevinbr38]

09:19 AM on 03/14/2012

This stalling/blocking out of spite bt the TeaOP'ers is unconscionable and unprecedented in it's scale and scope.
There are districts where the dockets are backed up for months because there are not enough judges to hear cases.
If I don't, or refuse to do my job, I will be fired tomorrow. That is sadly not the case foe members of congress.

[Amalek]

08:33 AM on 03/14/2012

Obama has been given quite a gift by Republicans.  He can run against their record of obstruction rather than his record of accomplishment.  Republicans are petty fools.  They are squandering the best opportunity of their careers.

[RUKidding0]

08:49 AM on 03/14/2012

Obstructing the collectivist tyranny of Obama's Euro-social-democratic state is the second highest and best use of the Republican Party - second only to restoring freedom for all by dismantling the social democratic state in its entirety.

[TechYes]

09:05 AM on 03/14/2012

Do you get paid by the buzz phrase?

[Amalek]

09:07 AM on 03/14/2012

In other words, the republican party is dedicated to the overthrow of the American government and our way of life. I thought so.

[kevinbr38]

09:28 AM on 03/14/2012

Cant's argue with you Amelek but....
President Obama can run on both the TeaOP's record of obstruction as well as his record of accomplishments.
As to them squandering the best opportunities of their careers, they saw to that by not fulfilling their 2010 campaign promises, and by putting forth a group of bu_ff_oons to run for the presidency.

[Aaron Watkins]

08:18 AM on 03/14/2012

Of course President Obama will. He has appointed more recess appointments in his first three years than any other President in the history of the US has in their first four.

Its his way, say one thing about change and open politics and do the exact opposite.

[Scribe57]

08:22 AM on 03/14/2012

Seriously? You're just going to ignore the unprecedented levels of GOP obstructionism?

[smooth black]

08:24 AM on 03/14/2012

Of course he is Scribe57,Aaron has to drum that talking point .

[Aaron Watkins]

08:35 AM on 03/14/2012

I can't ignore the record amount of czars the President has appointed, both through appointment and recess. If it was so hard, how come he has double the czar's appointed in his first 4 years than Bush had in 8.

[KingGeorgetheTurd]

08:26 AM on 03/14/2012

wait what? you have a GOP senate that has shattered the record for filibusters in only the first 3 month's f a two year record, and you want to accuse the President of having to place people to keep government running. You just reenforce the idea that the GOP don't want a small government, they want to destroy government.

Or as I like to say, the GOP want less government the same way thieves want less cops.

[Aaron Watkins]

08:34 AM on 03/14/2012

Tell me who the GOP has blocked. If your point was even half valid it would be more than was blocked under Bush by the Dems in the similar time frame. Hint, it wasn't.

[HopeWFaith]

08:02 AM on 03/14/2012

When I see my Congress having to submit procedural motions just to force debate, I know my country is in real trouble. Months upon months of bickering like angry, greedy children over who wins. It's just disgusting that Reid has to waste time like this, knowing full well that Obama has nominated people who overall will be excellent in these judicial roles. Obama has not taken these appointments lightly. Nor do I take it lightly when the Republicans running my country act like fools. VOTE THEM OUT!

[tommy b]

08:01 AM on 03/14/2012

The question is Would a Rep hesitate to use his power to force the issue or make recess appointments NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So why not JUST DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The majority of the people will be OK with it

[pinetarred]

07:57 AM on 03/14/2012

The question I have is who are they fighting for themselves or the people the claim to represent... The LOBBYSITS of course is the only answer!!