U.S. President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
nominated over 400 individuals for
federal judgeships during his
presidency
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
. Of these nominations, Congress confirmed 329 judgeships, 173 during the 111th & 112th Congresses and 156 during the 113th and 114th Congresses.
Republicans successfully blocked some confirmations, either by
filibuster or voting against
cloture
Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ' ...
, even while the Democratic caucus held a Senate majority (2009–2015). Senator
Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, h ...
, then-ranking Republican on the judiciary, said that more nominees could have been considered if not for the January 2012
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Na ...
recess appointments;
the Supreme Court later unanimously ruled these January 2012 appointments illegal in ''
NLRB v. Noel Canning''.
In response, Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...
invoked the so-called parliamentary
nuclear option
In the United States Senate, the nuclear option is a parliamentary procedure that allows the Senate to override a standing rule by a simple majority, avoiding the two-thirds supermajority normally required to invoke cloture on a resolution to ...
on November 21, 2013, which changed the Senate's confirmation threshold for all executive nominees except for the Supreme Court.
While Senate confirmations of Obama judicial nominees rose in 2014 following the "nuclear option," the greatest number of rejection of Obama nominees occurred following the
2014 United States Senate elections, where the Republicans gained nine seats and majority control of the chamber. Obama ultimately nominated 70 individuals for 104 different
federal judgeships during this Congress, with 20 confirmations.
With the death of
Antonin Scalia in February 2016 in the beginning of a
presidential election year, the Republican majority in the Senate made it their stated policy to refuse to consider any nominee to the
Supreme Court, arguing that the next president should be the one to appoint Scalia's replacement.
Obama nominated
Merrick Garland
Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...
for the open Supreme Court seat, but the Senate did not consider the nomination.
List of unsuccessful federal judicial nominations
Obama made 80 nominations for federal judgeships that were not confirmed by the Senate. Of these, 7 were withdrawn by Obama, while the other 73 expired at an adjournment of the Senate, including 54 that were pending at the close of the
114th Congress. As of April 17, 2023, 23 of his unsuccessful nominees had been nominated to federal judgeships by subsequent presidents, with 21 of them having been confirmed.
Nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court
Following the death of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
Antonin Scalia in February 2016, President Obama nominated
Merrick Garland
Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...
to fill Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court. At the time of his nomination, Garland was the Chief Judge of the
. Scalia's death led to an unusual situation in which a
Democratic president had the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court nominee while the
Republicans controlled the United States Senate; before Scalia's death; such a situation last occurred when a Senate Republican majority confirmed
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
's nomination of
Rufus Wheeler Peckham in 1895.
While Garland himself was not personally controversial, Scalia was considered one of the more
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
members of the Supreme Court. Political and legal commentators noted that a more
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
replacement could shift the Court's ideological balance for many years into the future, as the confirmation of Garland would have given Democratic appointees a majority on the Supreme Court for the first time since the
Harry Blackmun's confirmation in 1970.
Following Scalia's death, Republican Senate leaders announced that they did not plan to consider any
Supreme Court nomination during the president's last year in office, citing the upcoming
2016 United States presidential election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
. Senate Democrats argued that there was sufficient time to vote on a nominee before the election.
Garland's nomination ultimately expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the
114th Congress. The nomination remained before the Senate for 293 days,
[Jess Bravin]
President Obama's Supreme Court Nomination of Merrick Garland Expires
, ''The Wall Street Journal'' (January 3, 2017). the longest such nomination in American history
Supreme Court nomination.
On January 31, 2017,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
announced his selection of Judge
Neil Gorsuch for the open Supreme Court seat. Gorsuch was confirmed on April 7, 2017, by a Republican-majority Senate, 54–45 and sworn in on April 10, 2017.
Failed, stalled or filibustered appellate nominations
Failed nominations
*
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate ju ...
**
Robert Chatigny (of
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
), to
seat vacated by
Guido Calabresi
Guido Calabresi (born October 18, 1932) is an Italian-born American legal scholar and Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He is a former Dean of Yale Law School, where he has been a pr ...
: during the
111th Congress
The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...
,
Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd
Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. ...
recommended Chatigny for a judgeship on the Second Circuit,
and he was nominated by President Obama on February 24, 2010.
Critics of Chatigny's nomination highlighted his controversial performance during the trial of
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
Michael Bruce Ross, for whom Chatigny granted a temporary
stay of execution.
In addition, opponents cited a 2001 ruling declaring that a sex offender registration system violated a convict's civil rights and right to privacy, a ruling that drew bipartisan condemnation. His nomination was returned by the Senate on August 5, 2010, and Dodd, his main sponsor, did not seek reelection to the U.S. Senate that year. Chatigny removed his name from consideration
and was not renominated.
[ Obama ultimately chose U.S. District Judge Christopher F. Droney to fill the seat, and the Senate confirmed Droney without opposition on November 28, 2011.
*]United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* District ...
** Goodwin Liu
Goodwin Hon Liu (born October 19, 1970; Chinese: 劉弘威) is an American lawyer, educator and an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. Before his appointment by California Governor Jerry Brown, Liu was Associate Dean and Profes ...
(of California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
), to newly created seat: Liu was nominated on February 24, 2010. His nomination was returned by the Senate on August 5, 2010.[Bob Egelko]
Republicans block Bay Area judicial nominees
''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' (August 7, 2010). Liu had faced opposition from Republicans who described him as an "extreme liberal" because of his outspoken support of same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
and affirmative action,[ and his 2008 article advocating for Constitutional protection of welfare benefits. He was also denounced for his personal criticism of the Supreme Court nominations of ]John Roberts
John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...
and Samuel Alito,[An Exceptional Nominee]
, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' (March 27, 2010). and his consideration as a possible Supreme Court candidate.[ Liu was renominated at the start of the 112th Congress. On May 17, 2011, Senate Majority Leader ]Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...
filed for cloture
Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ' ...
on Liu's nomination, with 60 votes needed to proceed to a floor vote on Liu's nomination; the cloture motion attracted only 52 of the 60 aye votes required. On May 25, 2011, Liu wrote to Obama requesting that his nomination be withdrawn due to the improbability that he would receive a floor vote.[Letter to President Obama]
, ''University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
'' (May 25, 2011). On July 26, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of ...
nominated Liu to a seat on the Supreme Court of California, and he was sworn in on September 1, 2011. Obama nominated U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen to the Ninth Circuit seat to which Liu had been nominated, and the Senate confirmed her without opposition on May 7, 2012.
* United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...
** Edward C. DuMont: DuMont was nominated to the Federal Circuit on April 14, 2010. If confirmed, DuMont would have been the first openly gay
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
United States appeals court judge. The Senate Judiciary Committee did not schedule a hearing on the nomination despite holding hearings and votes for two later nominees to the same court. A spokesperson for Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the committee, said in August 2011 only that "There are questions in Mr. DuMont's background investigation that have to be resolved." In November 2011, the National Law Journal reported that DuMont had submitted a letter to President Obama, asking that the president withdraw his nomination because one or more senators of the minority party on the Committee refused to allow the committee to give him a hearing; Obama withdrew DuMont's nomination later that day. In November 2011, Obama nominated Richard G. Taranto to the seat to which DuMont had been nominated, and the Senate confirmed him without opposition on March 11, 2013.
*United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
* Central District of Illinois
* Northern District of ...
** Victoria F. Nourse (of Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
), to a seat vacated by Terence T. Evans: Nourse, a former counsel for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, was recommended by Senator Russ Feingold
Russell Dana Feingold ( ; born March 2, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee in the 2016 election for the same U ...
After defeating Senator Feingold in the 2010 midterm elections
The 2010 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, in the middle of Democratic President Barack Obama's first term. Republicans ended unified Democratic control of Congress and the presidency by winning a majority in the H ...
, newly elected Senator Ron Johnson
Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. S ...
blocked Nourse's nomination. Nourse was not renominated. Obama nominated Donald Karl Schott, who was approved by the Judiciary Committee but did not receive a vote on the floor. The seat was ultimately filled in 2018 by President Trump
Trump most commonly refers to:
* Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021)
* Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank
Trump may also refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Donald J. T ...
nominee Michael B. Brennan
Michael Brian Brennan (born 1963) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He was first nominated on August 3, 2017, by President Donald Trump, and was re-nominated in 2018. He was confir ...
.
** Myra C. Selby (of Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
), to a seat vacated by John Daniel Tinder
John Daniel Tinder (born 1950) is a retired United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Background
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1950, Tinder attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in India ...
: Selby, the first black American and the first woman appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court, was nominated by President Obama on January 12, 2016. Republican Senator Dan Coats blue slipped the nomination, and the nomination stalled out in the Judiciary Committee. The seat was ultimately filled in 2017 by Trump
Trump most commonly refers to:
* Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021)
* Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank
Trump may also refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Donald J. T ...
nominee Amy Coney Barrett
Amy Vivian Coney Barrett (born January 28, 1972) is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The fifth woman to serve on the court, she was nominated by President Donald Trump and has served since October 27, 2020. ...
, who would later join the Supreme Court following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by Presiden ...
.
*United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Colorado
* District of Kansas
* Distr ...
** Stephen Six (of Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
), to seat vacated by Deanell Reece Tacha. Former Kansas Attorney General Six was opposed by both home state senators. Republicans claimed that he was a liberal extremist who would substitute his personal opinions for the law and the Constitution. Six's critics strongly condemned his conduct in a 2008 investigation of physician George Tiller
George Richard Tiller (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009) was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, which was one of only three abortion clinics nationwide ...
, who was charged with performing illegal late-term abortions. Six was accused of improperly quashing a subpoena for Tiller's patient records. Based on this criticism, the Senate Judiciary Committee did not act upon the nomination, and it was returned to the president on December 17, 2011, pursuant to the rules of the Senate. President Obama later chose Kansas Supreme Court
The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the st ...
Justice Nancy Moritz
Nancy Louise Moritz (born March 3, 1960) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and former Associate Justice on the Kansas Supreme Court.
Biography
Moritz (formerly Caplinger) was born in ...
to fill the seat to which Six had been nominated, and the Senate easily confirmed Moritz on May 5, 2014.
*
** Caitlin Halligan
Caitlin Joan Halligan (born December 14, 1966) is a lawyer who is the former general counsel for the Manhattan district attorney's office. She served as Solicitor General for the state of New York from 2001 until 2007. President Barack Obama nomi ...
(of New York), to seat vacated by John Roberts
John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...
: on September 29, 2010, President Obama nominated New York Solicitor Halligan. Her argument that "gun manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers contributed to a 'public nuisance' of illegal handguns in the state f New York
F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
" prompted critics to claim that she was a liberal ideologue who would not uphold the Second Amendment
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
and would base rulings on personal opinion rather than the law. Halligan's nomination failed to reach the threshold for cloture. Obama renominated Halligan to the D.C. Circuit in June 2012, The nomination was again returned to the President on August 3, 2012, and Obama renominated Halligan to the seat for a third time on September 19, 2012. On March 22, 2013, the President officially withdrew Halligan's nomination. On June 4, 2013, Obama nominated Patricia Millett
Patricia Ann Millett (; born September 1963) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She formerly headed the Supreme Court practice at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Fel ...
to fill the vacancy, and the Senate confirmed her on December 10, 2013.
Successful appointments
*United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
* Central District of Illinois
* Northern District of ...
** David Hamilton (of Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
), to seat vacated by Kenneth Francis Ripple
Kenneth Francis Ripple (born May 19, 1943) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Education and career
Ripple was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received an Artium Baccalaure ...
: Hamilton was nominated on March 17, 2009.[President Obama Announces David Hamilton for the United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals]
'' whitehouse.gov'' (March 17, 2009). Prior to President Obama's successful appointment of Hamilton, President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
had unsuccessfully nominated Philip P. Simon
Philip Peter Simon (born July 7, 1962) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.
Early life and education
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Simon earned a Bachelor of Arts de ...
to succeed Judge Ripple, who assumed senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
in September 2008. Hamilton's nomination generated opposition from groups who objected to some of his rulings while serving as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (in case citations, S.D. Ind.) is a federal district court in Indiana. It was created in 1928 by an act of Congress that split Indiana into two separate districts, northern an ...
, particularly those dealing with abortion and prayer. However, Hamilton received the support of both Senators from Indiana, including Republican Senator Richard Lugar.[Warren Richey]
Senate OK's David Hamilton to be US appeals court judge
, ''The Christian Science Monitor
''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'' (November 19, 2009). On November 17, 2009, the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
invoked cloture on his nomination by a 70–29 vote. Hamilton was confirmed on November 19, 2009, by a 59–39 vote. Lugar was the only Republican to vote for the confirmation of Hamilton.
*United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:
* District of Delaware
* District of New Jersey
* East ...
** Patty Shwartz
Patty Shwartz (born July 24, 1961) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Early life and education
Shwartz was born in Paterson, New Jersey. She grew up in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, where ...
(of New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
), to seat vacated by Maryanne Trump Barry
Maryanne Trump Barry (born April 5, 1937) is an American attorney and a retired United States federal judge. She became an Assistant United States Attorney in 1974, and was first appointed to the United States District Court for the District o ...
: New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez did not return his blue slip
Blue slip or blue-slipping refers to two distinct legislative procedures in the United States Congress.
In the House of Representatives, it is the rejection slip given to tax and spending bills sent to it by the Senate that did not originate in ...
, which effectively blocked the nomination. In January 2012, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported that Senator Menendez did not provide a reason for the blue slip, noting that Shwartz long had been in a relationship with the head of the New Jersey federal prosecutor's public corruption unit which investigated Menendez during the 2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, an investigation that Menendez contended was politically motivated. On January 13, 2012, Menendez dropped his opposition to Shwartz's nomination, and the Judiciary Committee reported her nomination to the floor of the Senate by a 10–6 vote. On January 2, 2013, her nomination was returned to the President due to the sine die
In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is opp ...
adjournment of the Senate. On January 3, 2013, she was renominated. Her nomination was reported to the floor by the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 14, 2013, by a 11–7 vote, and the Senate confirmed her nomination on April 9, 2013, by a 64–34 vote.
*United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* District ...
** Andrew D. Hurwitz (of Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
), to seat vacated by Mary M. Schroeder: In a 2002 law review article, Hurwitz wrote that he had helped create, and still admires, the legal framework for Judge Jon O. Newman's opinion striking down Connecticut's abortion law in 1972 prior to ''Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
''. While Hurwitz's home-state senators supported his nomination, other Republican senators objected to it. The Senate invoke cloture on his nomination on June 11, 2012, by a 60–31 vote. Hurwitz was confirmed on June 12, 2012, by a voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
.
*United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Colorado
* District of Kansas
* Distr ...
** Robert E. Bacharach (of Oklahoma), to seat vacated by Robert Harlan Henry
Robert Harlan Henry (born April 3, 1953) is a former United States Circuit Judge and politician from Oklahoma, and was the 17th President of Oklahoma City University. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Henry formerly served as the Attorne ...
. A United States magistrate judge
In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduc ...
of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma since 1999, Bacharach's nomination failed to receive enough votes to invoke cloture. Republicans contended that the consideration of his nomination came too late in a presidential election year, citing the informal Thurmond Rule. After President Obama's re-election, Bacharach was confirmed on February 25, 2013, by a 93–0 vote.
*United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts:
* Middle District of Alabama
* Northern District of Alabama
* ...
** Adalberto Jordan (of Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
), to seat vacated by Susan H. Black
Susan Sims Harrell Black (born October 20, 1943) is an Law of the United States, American lawyer and a United States federal judge, Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She was a former ...
. While Republicans did not have specific objections to the nomination, Republican senators, such as Mike Lee
Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Lee began his career as a clerk for the U ...
, objected to Obama's nominations during this time period in response to recess appointments made in January 2012, to the National Labor Relations Board. On February 9, 2012, Senator Harry Reid motioned to invoke cloture on Jordan's nomination, which was invoked on February 13, 2012, by an 89–5 vote. The Senate confirmed Jordan on February 15, 2012, by a 94–5 vote.
**Jill A. Pryor
Jill Anne Pryor (born March 24, 1963) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Pryor was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Education
Pryor received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985 from ...
, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Originally nominated February 16, 2012, to seat vacated by Stanley F. Birch. Georgia's two Republican senators, Johnny Isakson
John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 to 2019 as a member of the Republican Party. He represented in the United States ...
and Saxby Chambliss
Clarence Saxby Chambliss (born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senator from Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative from ...
, refused to return their blue slips, thus blocking her nomination. In September 2013, it was reported that a deal was in the works between the White House and the senators to ensure a hearing on Pryor’s nomination and to fill the other district court vacancies within Georgia, thus upsetting those in the Georgia's Democratic delegation. On June 19, 2014, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. On July 30, 2014, Senator Harry Reid motioned to invoke cloture on Pryor's nomination. On July 31, 2014, the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
invoked cloture on Pryor's nomination by a 58–33 vote. On September 8, 2014, her nomination was confirmed by a 97–0 vote.
*
**Patricia Millett
Patricia Ann Millett (; born September 1963) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She formerly headed the Supreme Court practice at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Fel ...
, Cornelia Pillard, and Robert L. Wilkins to seats
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair, a chair eq ...
vacated by John G. Roberts Jr., Douglas H. Ginsburg, and David B. Sentelle, respectively: in November 2013, Republicans opposed the confirmation of three nominees to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, citing the caseload while accusing President Obama of "court packing," evoking President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937
The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, frequently called the "court-packing plan",Epstein, at 451. was a legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court in order t ...
. This set of objections resulted in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid invoking the so-called parliamentary nuclear option
In the United States Senate, the nuclear option is a parliamentary procedure that allows the Senate to override a standing rule by a simple majority, avoiding the two-thirds supermajority normally required to invoke cloture on a resolution to ...
on November 21, 2013, which changed the Senate's confirmation threshold for all executive nominees except for the Supreme Court. Millet was confirmed on December 10, 2013, by a 56–38 vote. Pillard was confirmed on December 11, 2013, by a 51–44 vote. Wilkins was confirmed on January 13, 2014, by a 55–43 vote. The confirmations marked the first time the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had a full complement of judges since Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1 ...
left the court on October 23, 1991, upon his elevation to the Supreme Court.
Failed, stalled or filibustered district court nominations
Failed nominations
*
** Louis B. Butler: Butler unsuccessfully ran for the Wisconsin Supreme Court
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.
Location
The Wi ...
in 2000. He was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2004, but narrowly lost the 2008 election to retain the seat. On September 30, 2009, President Obama nominated Butler to serve on the District Court. Critics argued that Butler should not be appointed to the federal bench after having been twice rejected by the voters of his state,[ and labeled him as liberal ideologue who was hostile toward tough criminal sentences and the rights of gun owners. He was also criticized for a ruling which effectively overturned the state's limits on non-economic damages in medical malpractice suits and a ruling in which he supported "collective liability" in lead paint cases in which companies could be held liable for products that they didn't produce, leading to charges of being overly beholden to trial lawyers. Wisconsin Senator ]Ron Johnson
Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. S ...
, elected in 2010, immediately placed a hold on Butler's nomination once he took office in 2011, and the Senate returned Butler's nomination to the White House in December 2011 without consideration. On November 7, 2013, Obama nominated James D. Peterson to fill this vacancy, and he was confirmed on May 8, 2014.
*United States District Court for the District of Maryland
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland. Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken to the United States Court ...
** Charles Bernard Day: Day, a U.S. magistrate judge in Maryland, was initially nominated in July 2010, but his nomination was withdrawn by President Obama on October 31, 2011. Day did not receive a hearing in the Judiciary Committee. Senator Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, h ...
stated that Committee members had "insurmountable concerns" about matters raised during a background investigation of Day, adding that Day "is aware of those problems and is free to share that information if he so desires." In November 2011, Obama nominated Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
Circuit Court Judge George Levi Russell III to fill this vacancy, and he was confirmed on May 14, 2012.
*
**Michael Charles Green
Michael Charles Green (born 1961) is the executive commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). He is the former District Attorney for Monroe County, New York. During 2011, he was a federal judicial nominee for t ...
: Green, then the Monroe County District Attorney in western New York, was nominated on January 26, 2011. The nomination was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but the nomination stalled in the Senate and was returned to the president at the end of 2011. In follow-up questions to his hearing testimony, several Republican senators focused on Green's decision to seek drug treatment rather than jail for some offenders, while others queried Green about his views on the death penalty. On December 18, 2011, a White House spokesman told a local newspaper that President Obama would not renominate Green to the seat. "Mike Green would have made an outstanding judge, and it is very unfortunate not only for him, but for a strong judiciary, that partisan politics stood in the way," Senator Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...
said in a statement on December 18, 2011. On December 19, 2011, Green said at a press conference that he blamed local opposition on his failed judicial nomination, as a result of his prosecution of public corruption. In May 2012, Obama nominated longtime Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
judge Frank Paul Geraci, Jr. to fill thisvacancy, and he was confirmed on December 13, 2012.
*
** Arvo Mikkanen: Mikkanen was nominated following a recommendation from Democratic Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Brad Henry. His nomination was immediately met with opposition from members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation, with Republican Senators James Inhofe
James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Committe ...
and Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United St ...
and Democratic Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
Dan Boren
David Daniel Boren (born August 2, 1973) is the Secretary of Commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, based in Oklahoma. He is a retired American politician, who served as the U.S. Representative for from 2005 to 2013. The district included most of ...
expressing disappointment that they were not consulted on the nomination. Opposition to Mikkanen's nomination centered around procedural grounds,[ and President Obama ultimately nominated then-federal magistrate judge John E. Dowdell to fill the vacancy. The Senate confirmed Dowdell unanimously on December 11, 2012.
*
**Natasha Perdew Silas: Georgia's two Republican senators, ]Johnny Isakson
John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 to 2019 as a member of the Republican Party. He represented in the United States ...
and Saxby Chambliss
Clarence Saxby Chambliss (born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senator from Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative from ...
, opposed Silas, a staff attorney at the Federal Public Defender program for Northern Georgia, for reasons which they declined to discuss publicly. As a result, Silas did not receive a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Her nomination was returned to Obama on December 17, 2011. On December 19, 2013, Obama nominated Mark Howard Cohen to fill this vacancy. He was confirmed on November 18, 2014.
** Linda T. Walker: Originally nominated on January 26, 2011. Her nomination expired when it was returned to the President on December 17, 2011. On December 19, 2013, Obama nominated Leigh Martin May to fill this vacancy. She was confirmed on November 13, 2014.
** Michael P. Boggs: Originally nominated on December 19, 2013, to the seat expected to be vacated by Judge Julie E. Carnes, who was nominated to United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts:
* Middle District of Alabama
* Northern District of Alabama
* ...
on the same day. David Scott
David Randolph Scott (born June 6, 1932) is an American retired test pilot and NASA astronaut who was the seventh person to walk on the Moon. Selected as part of the third group of astronauts in 1963, Scott flew to space three times and ...
, U.S. Representative from Georgia's 13th district, criticized the nomination of Boggs because of Boggs' votes in the legislature to retain Confederate insignia in the state flag of Georgia, restrict abortion, and ban same-sex marriage. Boggs was nominated as part of a group of nominees that won approval of Georgia's U.S. senators, to allow votes on their nominations. He received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 13, 2014, but his nomination was not reported from committee. On December 30, 2014, Senator Chambliss revealed that he had been advised in late November by White House chief of staff Denis McDonough
Denis Richard McDonough (born December 2, 1969) is an American government official serving as the 11th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Joe Biden since 2021.
McDonough served in the Obama Administration as chief of s ...
that Boggs would not be renominated. On July 30, 2015, the President nominated judge Dax Eric López to the vacancy.
** Dax Eric López: On July 30, 2015, President Obama nominated DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb:
* DeKalb County, Alabama
* DeKalb County, Georgia
* DeKalb County, Illinois
* DeKalb County, Indiana
* DeKalb County, Missour ...
Circuit Court Judge López to serve as a Federal judge, to the seat vacated by Julie E. Carnes, who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts:
* Middle District of Alabama
* Northern District of Alabama
* ...
. Senator David Perdue
David Alfred Perdue Jr. (; born December 10, 1949) is an American politician and business executive who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Perdue was an unsuccessful candidate fo ...
announced that he would not return Lopez's blue slip due to the treatment by Democrats of the prior nominee, Michael P. Boggs, effectively killing Lopez's nomination. The seat was later filled by Trump nominee Michael Lawrence Brown.
*United States District Court for the District of Nevada
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
** Elissa F. Cadish: On February 16, 2012, President Obama nominated Cadish, a Clark County District Court Judge, to be a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. She would have replaced Philip M. Pro who took senior status in 2011. Because Senator Heller had refused to return his blue slip, the Senate Judiciary Committee did not hold a hearing on her nomination. Heller's opposition to her nomination and his invocation of "senatorial courtesy
Senatorial courtesy is a long-standing, unwritten, unofficial, and nonbinding constitutional convention in the United States describing the tendency of U.S. senators to support a Senate colleague when opposing the appointment to federal office of ...
" was because of a statement by Cadish indicating that she believed that there was no individual right to keep and bear arms, a statement which was made in 2008, prior to Supreme Court decisions explicitly recognizing an individual right to keep and bear arms. On March 8, 2013, Cadish requested that President Obama withdraw her nomination, and on March 13, 2013, Obama formally withdrew the nomination. On January 16, 2014, Obama nominated Richard F. Boulware to fill this vacancy, and he was confirmed on June 10, 2014.
*
** William L. Thomas: On November 14, 2012, President Obama nominated Dade County Circuit Court Judge Thomas to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to replace Adalberto Jordan. If confirmed, Thomas would have been the first openly gay black male to serve as a federal judge. On January 2, 2013, his nomination was returned to the President, due to the sine die adjournment of the Senate. On January 3, 2013, he was renominated to the same office. On September 19, 2013, Senator Marco Rubio announced that – although originally he recommended Thomas to the President – he would not return his blue slip. His nomination was returned to the President because of the sine die adjournment of Congress on January 3, 2014. Obama decided not to resubmitt the nomination a third time. Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Robin L. Rosenberg
Robin Lee Rosenberg (born January 22, 1962) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and former Florida circuit court judge.
Biography
Rosenberg received a Bachelor of Arts d ...
was nominated to the seat on February 26, 2014, and she was confirmed on July 22, 2014.
*
** Alison Renee Lee: A Richland County Circuit Court Judge since 1999, Lee was originally nominated on June 26, 2013, to the seat being vacated by Cameron McGowan Currie, who took senior status on October 3, 2013. South Carolina Senators Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee on ...
and Tim Scott
Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Carolina since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Scott was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Go ...
opposed her nomination because of a controversial decision that she made involving burglary suspect Lorenzo Young. Lee consolidated his bonds and reduced the bond total from $225,000 to $175,000 for Young, who subsequently was released and then later charged in a July 1 murder. Because of opposition from her home state senators and no opportunity of receiving a committee hearing, on September 18, 2014, Obama withdrew her nomination. The seat was filled in 2019 by Trump nominee A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.
Arthur Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. (born August 2, 1964) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was formerly a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Distr ...
* United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
** Jennifer Prescod May-Parker: Originally nominated June 20, 2013, to the seat vacated by Malcolm Jones Howard
Malcolm Jones Howard (born June 24, 1939) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Education and career
Born in Kinston, North Carolina, Howard received a Bachelo ...
, she did not receive a hearing. Senator Richard Burr
Richard Mauze Burr (born November 30, 1955) is an American businessman and politician who is the senior United States senator from North Carolina, serving since 2005. A member of the Republican Party, Burr was previously a member of the United S ...
did not return his blue slip. Her nomination was returned on December 16, 2014, because of the adjournment of the 113th Congress. President Obama chose not to renominate her. The seat was later filled by Trump nominee Richard E. Myers II.
*United States District Court for the District of Kansas
The United States District Court for the District of Kansas (in case citations, D. Kan.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Kansas. The Court operates out of the Robert J. Dole United States Courthouse in Kansas Ci ...
** Terrence J. Campbell: On January 28, 2016, President Obama nominated Campbell to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, to the seat vacated by Kathryn H. Vratil, who took senior status on April 22, 2014. On December 7, 2016, Campbell, in letters to Obama and Kansas Senators Pat Roberts
Charles Patrick Roberts (born April 20, 1936) is a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of Rep ...
and Jerry Moran
Gerald Wesley Moran ( ; born May 29, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Kansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was chair of the National Republican Senator ...
, requested that his name be withdrawn from further consideration. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017, at the end of the 114th Congress. The seat was later filled by Trump nominee Holly Lou Teeter.
* United States District Court for the District of Utah
The United States District Court for the District of Utah (in case citations, D. Utah) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Utah. The court is based in Salt Lake City with another courtroom leased in thstate courth ...
**Ronald G. Russell: On December 16, 2015, President Obama nominated former Centerville Mayor Russell to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Utah
The United States District Court for the District of Utah (in case citations, D. Utah) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Utah. The court is based in Salt Lake City with another courtroom leased in thstate courth ...
, to the seat vacated by Ted Stewart
Brian Theadore "Ted" Stewart (born 1948) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah.
Early life and education
Born in Logan, Utah, Stewart received a Bachelor of Science degree from ...
, who took senior status on September 1, 2014. Russell, a Republican, had the support of Utah Senators Orrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1977 to 2019. Hatch's 42-year Senate tenure made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. senato ...
and Mike Lee
Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Lee began his career as a clerk for the U ...
. Russell received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 20, 2016, and was approved without objection on May 19. However, Russell's nomination stalled on the floor, due to the blockade on confirmations imposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Democratic objections to expediting Russell's nomination without confirming longer-pending Democrats. Without floor action, Russell's nomination was returned to the White House unconfirmed on January 3, 2017. The seat was later filled by Trump nominee Howard C. Nielson Jr.
Successful nominations
*United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (in case citations, D.R.I.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified th ...
** John J. McConnell, Jr.: McConnell was first nominated on March 10, 2010. McConnell had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic campaigns, including over eight thousand each to the campaigns of Rhode Island Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse
Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Attorney from 1993 to 1998 ...
.[ McConnell's critics contended that his prolific political contributions suggest that McConnell would be a partisan judge.] On May 4, 2011, the Senate invoked cloture on McConnell's nomination in a 63–33 vote, and he was confirmed later that same day in a 50–44 vote. At the time, the cloture petition to break the filibuster marked one of the rare instances that such a motion had been required to force a vote on a district court nominee, with only three prior instances recorded.
* United States District Court for the Northern District of California
** Edward M. Chen: Chen faced opposition due to his work as an attorney for the ACLU.[Bob Egelko]
Obama will renominate Edward Chen to be judge
, ''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' (January 9, 2010). On May 5, 2011, Senator Harry Reid received unanimous consent
In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a prop ...
from the Senate to proceed to an executive session of the Senate at a future time, eliminating the need to file for cloture on Chen's nomination. On May 10, 2011, Chen was confirmed by a 56–42 vote.
*United States District Court for the District of Arizona
The United States District Court for the District of Arizona (in case citations, D. Ariz.) is the U.S. district court that covers the state of Arizona. It is under the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The District was est ...
** Rosemary Márquez: On June 23, 2011, President Obama nominated Marquez, a Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
defense attorney, to the federal court in Arizona. However, Arizona's two Republican senators, John McCain and Jon Kyl, refused to return their blue slips. McCain said that he did not believe that Marquez was qualified, telling a newspaper, "I've been working with Sen. Kyl, but we do not feel at this time that she's qualified." On January 28, 2014, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on her nomination as well as five other individuals nominated to the same court. She was confirmed on May 15, 2014, by a vote of 81–15.
*
** Ronnie L. White: On November 7, 2013, President Obama nominated Missouri Supreme Court Justice White to serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. White had previously been nominated for the same position by President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
in 1997, but the nomination was defeated. The nomination drew controversy, as Republicans charged White as being a liberal ideologue who was biased in favor of criminal defendants. He received a hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on May 20, 2014. On June 19, 2014, his nomination was reported out of committee by a vote of 10–8. On July 16, 2014, the Senate voted 54–43 for cloture on White's nomination, ending a Republican-led filibuster. Later that same day, senators voted 53–44 to confirm White.
Impacts of vacancies
A 2016 study found that the current rate of federal judicial vacancies (10 percent) had led prosecutors to dismiss more cases and had led defendants to be more likely to plead guilty and less likely to be incarcerated. The authors found that "the current rate of vacancies has resulted in 1,000 fewer prison inmates annually compared to a fully-staffed court system, a 1.5 percent decrease."
Nominations that were made at the end of Obama's term and later renominated
Successful renominations
*United States District Court for the District of Colorado
The United States District Court for the District of Colorado (in case citations, D. Colo. or D. Col.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are a ...
** Regina M. Rodriguez: On April 28, 2016, President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
nominated Rodriguez to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, to the seat vacated by Judge Robert E. Blackburn, who took senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on April 12, 2016. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress, with Trump nominee Daniel D. Domenico
Daniel Desmond Domenico (born 1972) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
Biography
Domenico earned his Bachelor of Arts, ''magna cum laude'', from Georgetown University, and hi ...
being appointed instead. On April 19, 2021, President Joe Biden renominated Rodriguez to the seat vacated by Judge Marcia S. Krieger, who took senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on March 3, 2019. On June 8, 2021, her nomination was confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 72–28.
*United States District Court for the District of Columbia
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District ...
**Florence Y. Pan
Florence Yu Pan (born November 16, 1966) is an American lawyer who serves as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was a U.S. district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of C ...
: On April 28, 2016, President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
nominated Pan to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, to the seat vacated by Judge Reggie Walton
Reggie Barnett Walton (born February 8, 1949) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He is a former presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Early life ...
, who took senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on December 31, 2015. Pan was recommended by the American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...
and generated no controversy. On July 13, 2016, a hearing on her nomination was held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...
. On September 15, 2016, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress, with Trump nominee Dabney L. Friedrich being appointed instead. On March 30, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Pan to serve as a United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District ...
. On June 15, 2021, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Pan to the seat vacated by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson ( ; born September 14, 1970) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Joe Biden on February 25, 202 ...
, who was nominated to serve as a Circuit Judge for the D.C. Circuit. On September 23, 2021, the Senate confirmed her nomination by a vote of 68–30.
*
** William F. Jung: On April 28, 2016, President Obama nominated Jung to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, to the seat vacated by Anne C. Conway, who took senior status on August 1, 2015. Jung had been previously nominated for the same court by President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in 2008, but the nomination was not acted upon by Senate Democrats, with Obama nominee Charlene Honeywell being appointed to that seat instead. Like before, his nomination drew no controversy. For this 2016 nomination, the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary rated Jung unanimously "Well Qualified." In spite of this, his nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. On December 21, 2017, he was nominated a third time by President Trump. On February 14, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held. On March 15, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. On September 6, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by voice vote.
*United States District Court for the District of Idaho
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
** David Nye: On the recommendation of Senators Mike Crapo
Michael Dean Crapo ( ; born May 20, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Crapo previously served as the U.S. repres ...
and Jim Risch
James Elroy Risch ( ; born May 3, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Idaho since 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served as lieutenant governor of Idaho under governors Dirk Kem ...
, President Obama nominated state Appellate Judge Nye on April 5, 2016, to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Idaho. Nye was nominated to the seat vacated by Edward Lodge, who took senior status on July 3, 2015. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on June 21, 2016. On July 14, 2016, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. Senators Crapo and Risch indicated that if Nye was not confirmed in the 114th Congress, then they would recommend him to President Trump for renomination in the 115th Congress
The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January ...
. He was subsequently renominated by Trump in 2017, and his nomination was confirmed unanimously on July 12, 2017.
*United States District Court for the District of Maryland
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland. Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken to the United States Court ...
** Stephanie A. Gallagher: On September 8, 2015, President Obama nominated Gallagher to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland. Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken to the United States Court ...
, to the seat vacated by William D. Quarles Jr., who took senior status on February 1, 2016. She received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 20, 2016. On May 19, 2016, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. On June 7, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Gallagher to the same seat. On June 11, 2018, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On October 11, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 20–1 vote. On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. On April 8, 2019, Trump announced the renomination of Gallagher. On May 21, 2019, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On September 11, 2019, her nomination was confirmed by a voice vote.
*United States District Court for the District of Nevada
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
** Anne Traum: On April 28, 2016, President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
nominated Traum to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, to the seat vacated by Judge Robert Clive Jones, who took senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on February 1, 2016. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. On November 3, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Traum to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
.[ ] On December 15, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...
. On January 3, 2022, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
; and she was later renominated the same day. On March 23, 2022, the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
confirmed her nomination by a 49–47 vote.
*United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...
** Julien Xavier Neals: In 2015, Obama nominated Neals to be a United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
to the seat vacated by Judge Faith S. Hochberg, who retired on March 6, 2015. His nomination generated no controversy and the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve the nomination on a voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
. However, the full U.S. Senate never acted upon the nomination. The seat would eventually be filled by Biden nominee Evelyn Padin. On March 30, 2021, President Joe Biden renominated Neals to the seat vacated by William J. Martini, who took senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on February 10, 2015. On June 8, 2021, his nomination was confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 66–33.
*
** Gary R. Brown: On July 30, 2015, President Obama nominated Brown to serve as a judge of the , to the seat vacated by Sandra J. Feuerstein, who assumed senior status on January 21, 2015. He received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 21, 2015. On November 5, 2015, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017, at the end of the 114th Congress. In August 2017, Brown was one of several candidates pitched by the White House to U.S. senators from New York Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...
and Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...
as judicial candidates for vacancies on the federal courts in New York. On May 10, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Brown to the same seat. On May 15, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. On September 13, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 21–0 vote. On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. On April 8, 2019, Trump announced the renomination of Brown to the same seat. On May 21, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. On December 19, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
.
** Diane Gujarati: On September 13, 2016, President Obama nominated Gujarati to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, to the seat vacated by John Gleeson, who resigned on March 9, 2016. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. In August 2017, Gujarati was one of several candidates pitched to New York senators Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...
and Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...
by the White House as judicial candidates for vacancies on the federal courts in New York. On May 10, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Gujarati to the same seat. On May 15, 2018, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On August 1, 2018, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On September 13, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 21–0 vote. On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. On April 8, 2019, Trump announced the renomination of Gujarati. On May 21, 2019, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On September 10, 2020, her nomination was confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0. Gujarati is the first Indian American to serve as an Article III federal judge in New York.
* United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
** Scott L. Palk: An Assistant Dean of Students at the University of Oklahoma College of Law
The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman, Oklahoma.
The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Boa ...
, Palk's nomination was the result of a compromise between President Obama and Oklahoma's home-state Senators. On December 16, 2015, Obama nominated Palk to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, to the seat vacated by Stephen P. Friot
Stephen P. Friot (born August 14, 1947) is a Senior status, senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Education and career
Born in Troy, New York, ...
, who took senior status on December 1, 2014. He received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 20, 2016. On May 19, 2016, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. On May 8, 2017, he was renominated by President Trump, and his nomination was confirmed on October 26, 2017, by a vote of 79–16.
*
**John Milton Younge
John Milton Younge (born July 19, 1955) is a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Biography
Younge received his Bachelor of Science in 1977 fro ...
: On July 30, 2015, President Obama nominated longtime state Appeals Judge Younge to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to the seat vacated by Mary A. McLaughlin
Mary A. McLaughlin (born 1946) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Education and career
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McLaughlin received a Bache ...
, who assumed senior status on November 18, 2013. He received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 9, 2015. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. On July 13, 2018. President Trump announced his intent to renominate Younge to the same seat. On July 17, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. On July 31, 2019, the Senate confirmed his nomination by voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
.
*
** Susan Paradise Baxter: On July 30, 2015, President Obama nominated Baxter to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, to the seat vacated by Sean J. McLaughlin
Sean J. McLaughlin (born January 4, 1955) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Education and career
Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, McLaughlin received an Artium Bacc ...
who resigned on August 16, 2013. She received a hearing on December 9, 2015. On January 28, 2016, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. On December 20, 2017, her renomination to the same seat was announced by President Trump and sent to the Senate. On February 15, 2018, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to support her nomination on a voice vote. On August 28, 2018, her nomination was confirmed by voice vote.
** Marilyn Horan: On July 30, 2015, President Obama nominated Judge Horan to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, to the seat vacated by Terrence F. McVerry, who assumed senior status on September 30, 2013. She received a hearing on December 9, 2015. On January 28, 2016, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress, with Trump nominee Peter J. Phipps being appointed to the seat instead. On December 20, 2017, her renomination to the same court was announced by President Trump and sent to the Senate. She was nominated to the seat vacated by Gary L. Lancaster, who died on April 24, 2013. On February 15, 2018, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to support her nomination on a voice vote. On September 6, 2018, her nomination was confirmed by voice vote.
** Robert J. Colville: On July 30, 2015, President Obama nominated Colville to the seat vacated due to the death of Judge Gary L. Lancaster, on April 24, 2013. He received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...
on December 9, 2015. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress, with fellow former Obama nominee Marilyn Horan being appointed instead. On March 1, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Colville to serve as a United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
for the . On March 5, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Colville to the seat vacated by Arthur J. Schwab
Arthur James Schwab (born December 7, 1946) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Early life, education, and career
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Schwab receive ...
, who took senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on January 1, 2018. On May 9, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–7 vote. On December 19, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a vote of 66–27.
*United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (in case citations, D.R.I.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified th ...
** Mary S. McElroy: On September 8, 2015, President Obama nominated McElroy to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, to the seat vacated by Mary M. Lisi, who took senior status on October 1, 2015. She received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 9, 2015. On January 28, 2016, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. On April 10, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to renominate McElroy to the same seat. On April 12, 2018, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On October 11, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 19–2 vote. On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. On April 8, 2019, Trump announced the renomination of McElroy. On May 21, 2019, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On September 11, 2019, her nomination was confirmed by a voice vote.
*
** Donald C. Coggins Jr.: On February 25, 2016, President Obama nominated Coggins to serve as a judge of the , to the seat vacated by Joseph F. Anderson, who took senior status on November 16, 2014. On June 21, 2016, a hearing was held on his nomination. On July 14, 2016, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. On August 3, 2017, President Trump renominated Coggins to the same seat. His nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote on September 14, 2017. On November 16, 2017, his nomination was confirmed by a vote of 96–0.
*United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to ...
** Karen Gren Scholer: On March 15, 2016, President Obama nominated former Dallas County Dallas County may refer to:
Places in the USA:
* Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name
* Dallas County, Arkansas
* Dallas County, Iowa
* Dallas County, Missouri
* Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...
Judge Scholer to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to ...
, to the seat vacated by Richard A. Schell, who took senior status on March 10, 2015. Scholer was nominated with the support of Texas's two senators, both Republicans, in a compromise. On September 7, 2016, a hearing was held on her nomination. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress, with Trump nominee Sean D. Jordan being appointed instead. On September 7, 2017, President Trump nominated her to serve on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, to the seat vacated by Jorge Antonio Solis, who retired on May 1, 2016. On October 26, 2017, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. On March 5, the Senate confirmed her in a 95–0 vote.
* United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
** James Wesley Hendrix: On March 15, 2016, President Obama nominated Hendrix to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, to the seat vacated by Jorge Antonio Solis, who retired on May 1, 2016. On September 7, 2016, a hearing was held on his nomination. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress, with fellow former Obama nominee Karen Gren Scholer being appointed instead. On January 16, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Hendrix to the same court. On January 17, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. Trump nominated Hendrix to the seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated by Samuel Ray Cummings
Samuel Ray Cummings (born 1944) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Education and career
Born in Lubbock, Texas, Cummings received a Bachelor of Business Administrat ...
, who took senior status on December 31, 2014. On July 30, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a vote of 89–1.
* United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
** Walter David Counts III: On March 15, 2016, President Obama nominated U.S. Magistrate Judge Counts to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, to the seat vacated by Robert A. Junell, who took senior status on February 13, 2015. Counts was selected as a compromise between the Obama White House and the state's two U.S. senators, both Republicans. On September 7, 2016, a hearing was held on his nomination. While Counts generated no controversy, the nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. On September 7, 2017, President Trump renominated Counts to the same seat. On October 26, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. On January 11, 2018, the Senate voted to confirm Counts by a vote of 96–0.
See also
* Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates
President Barack Obama made two successful appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States. The first was Judge Sonia SotomayorMark SilvaSonia Sotomayor is Obama's Supreme Court nominee ''Los Angeles Times'' (May 26, 2009). to fill the va ...
* United States federal judge
In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...
* Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts
The appointment of federal judges for United States federal courts is done via nomination by the President of the United States and confirmation by the United States Senate. The tables below provide the composition of all Article III courts which i ...
* Deaths of United States federal judges in active service
Deaths of United States federal judges in active service have profound political and procedural effects. Due to their implications for the political composition of the courts on which they serve, they can result in unexpected political conflicts r ...
References
{{U.S. Presidents and the Judiciary
Obama, Barack
judicial appointments