Sunday was the five-month anniversary of when President Obama nominated Pennsylvanian Phil Restrepo to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Yet Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley has still refused to schedule a hearing for him.
It's not like the committee has been hearing too many other circuit and district court nominees to make room for Restrepo. In fact, Grassley has had only two hearings for such nominees so far this year. At the second one, he only scheduled it for two nominees, although several other long-waiting nominees could easily have been accommodated.
And it's not like there is no need to fill the vacancy. In fact, on January 27, Third Circuit Judge Marjorie Rendell announced her intention to take senior status on July 1, making it important to get Restrepo confirmed by then so the court would not needlessly have a second vacancy. Nevertheless, Grassley did nothing.
A few weeks later, on February 20, the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts officially re-designated the vacancy that Restrepo would fill as a judicial emergency. Grassley's response was to do nothing. It was three weeks later that he held a hearing for two other judicial nominees and chose to exclude Restrepo.
Way back in November, Restrepo's nomination prompted statements of support from both of his home state senators, Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Pat Toomey. Unfortunately, it has been clear for awhile now that Grassley needs additional prodding, and given GOP control of the Senate, Toomey has a particular responsibility to make sure this nominee receives the attention he deserves. Other than release a statement five months ago, has Toomey spoken with Grassley? If not, why not? And if so, why has he been so ineffectual over these past five months?