Inching Forward is Not Enough: The GOP Must End its Relentless Obstruction of Judicial Nominees
WASHINGTON – Today Judge Dale Drozd was confirmed by the Senate to serve as a U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of California. Drozd was voted out of committee with overwhelming bipartisan support four months ago, but only today did the Senate GOP leadership end their needless obstruction of his confirmation. He was only the seventh judge confirmed this year, an inexcusably small number.
People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker released the following statement:
We congratulate Judge Drozd, a highly qualified nominee, on his long overdue confirmation today. But inching forward on the critical task of judicial confirmations is not enough. That a vacant seat classified as a judicial emergency sat open for so long while Republican leadership dragged their feet is an insult to all the Americans waiting for their day in court.
Despite a judicial vacancy crisis and a plethora of highly qualified nominees, the Republican led-Senate has scheduled votes on a total of seven judges this Congress. This is the slowest rate of judicial confirmations since the 1950s, when there were far fewer vacancies to fill. The GOP needs to stop putting politics above the basic functioning of our judicial system.
People For the American Way has a new edit memo detailing the latest information on judicial nominations, including:
- Comparisons between today’s rate of judicial confirmations and the rate during the last two years of George W. Bush’s presidency, when Democrats controlled the Senate.
- Comparisons between today’s number of judicial vacancies and judicial emergencies and those during Bush’s last two years.
- Information on some of the many examples of how Republicans are blocking confirmation votes on qualified nominees.
PFAW Executive Vice President Marge Baker and PFAW Senior Legislative Counsel Paul Gordon are available to speak with the press. To arrange an interview, please contact Layne Amerikaner at [email protected].
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