The Judicial Nominations Blog

This week, the Senate is holding votes on 21 nominations, three joint resolutions, and one bill, and the Judiciary Committee will convene a nominations hearing and an executive business meeting. Floor Action: Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to override President Trump's vetoes of S.J. Res. 36 , 37 , and 38 , which all relate to congressional disapproval of American arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Immediately following those three votes will be a cloture vote on the nomination of Greenburg Traurig shareholder Michael T. Liburdi to be a judge of the District of Arizona. Then, there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of Vogel Law Firm partner Peter D. Welte to be a judge of the District of North Dakota. The rest of the week's schedule is pretty fluid because Republican leadership has outlined a pretty heavy agenda (in the guise of a pre-August recess deal), as follows: Confirm Greenburg Traurig shareholder Michael T. Liburdi

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 4 ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 2  ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 113   ( - 2 ) Future Vacancies: 10  ( ±  0) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0  ( ±  0 this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 1  ( ±  0) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 0   ( ±  0) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 10   ( ±  0) Hearings held and still in Committee: 2   ( ±  0) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 38 ( - 2 ) Court of Federal Claims: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 1   ( ±  0) Hearings held and still in Committee: 1   ( ±  0) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 2  ( ±  0) Tax Court: Pending before Senate Finance Committee without hearing: 1  ( - 1 ) Hearings held and s

This week, the Senate is holding votes on four nominations and one bill, and the Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting to consider one bill. Floor Action: Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of Secretary of the Army Mark Esper to be Secretary of Defense. Tuesday: If cloture is invoked on the Esper nomination, the Senate will vote to confirm it at 12:00 pm, and then there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of former Delta Airlines executive Stephen Dickson to be Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. At 2:30 pm, there will be a series of three votes on H.R. 1327 , a bill which extends the provisions of the Zadroga Act through Fiscal Year 2092. Wednesday: A confirmation vote on the Dickson nomination will occur at 11:00 am. Then, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Judge  Wendy Williams Berger  of the Fifth District Court of Appeal to be a judge of the Middle Distri

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 4 ( - 1   this week) Future Vacancies: 2  ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 115   ( ±  0) Peter J. Phipps, Western District of Pennsylvania, elevation to Third Circuit, July 16, 2019, 5/10 seats vacant Future Vacancies: 10  ( - 1 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0  ( - 1  this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 1  ( +  1 ) Halil Suleyman Ozerden, of Mississippi, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit ( hearing held , July 17, 2019) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 0   ( - 1 ) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 10   ( - 2 ) Hearings held and still in Committee: 2   ( - 2 ) David B. Barlow, of Utah, to be a United States District Judge for the District of Utah ( hearing held , July 17, 2019) John Fitzgerald Kness, of Illino

This week, the Senate is holding votes on four nominations and four treaties, and the Judiciary Committee will convene a nominations hearing and an executive business meeting. Floor Action: Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of U.S. District Judge Judge Peter J. Phipps of the Western District of Pennsylvania to be a judge of the Third Circuit. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has not returned blue slip on Phipps, but like Judge Joseph Bianco, now of the Second Circuit, he is a relatively noncontroversial district judge, so expect some Democrats to defect and support his nomination instead of the party-line vote we have come to expect. Tuesday: After burning close to 30 hours of postcloture debate on the Phipps nomination, there will be a vote on confirmation, and then there will be cloture votes on four tax treaties, one each with Spain, Switzerland, Japan, and Luxembourg. Wednesday: The Senate will vote to ratify the four treaties, wi

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 5 ( - 1   this week) Future Vacancies: 2  ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 115   ( - 3 ) Future Vacancies: 11  ( ±  0 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 1  ( ±  0 this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 0  ( ±  0 ) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 1   ( - 1 ) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 12   ( +  2 ) R. Austin Huffaker, Jr., of Alabama, to be a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama ( officially nominated , July 8, 2019) Lee Philip Rudofsky, of Arkansas, to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas ( officially nominated , July 8, 2019) Hearings held and still in Committee: 4  ( ±  0) Douglas Russell Cole, of Ohio, to be a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio

This week, the Senate is holding votes on seven nominations, and the Judiciary Committee will convene an executive business meeting. Floor Action: Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of Kirkland & Ellis partner Daniel Bress to be a judge of the Ninth Circuit. Neither of California's senators returned blue slips for his nomination, due to concerns over his "youth" and because he lives in the Washington, D.C. area . With those issues in mind, this vote will be along party lines. Tuesday: After burning close to 30 hours of postcloture debate on the Bress nomination, there will be a vote on confirmation, and then there will be cloture votes on three district court nominees: Judge T. Kent Wetherell II of the First District Court of Appeal (Northern District of Florida); Barnes & Thornburg partner Damon Leichty (Northern District of Indiana); and K&L Gates partner Nicholas Ranjan (Western District of Pennsylvan

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 6 ( +  1   this week) Christopher F. Droney, Second Circuit, senior status, June 30, 2019, 2/13 seats vacant Future Vacancies: 2  ( ±  0 ) Jay S. Bybee, Ninth Circuit, senior status, December 31, 2019, 4/29 seats vacant ¹ District Courts: Current Vacancies: 118   ( +  5 ) Jack Zouhary, Northern District of Ohio, senior status, July 1, 2019, 1/11 seats vacant Judith C. Herrera, District of New Mexico, senior status, July 1, 2019, 3/7 seats vacant Joe L. Heaton, Western District of Oklahoma, senior status, July 1, 2019, 3/7 seats vacant Andrew J. Guilford, Central District of California, senior status, July 5, 2019, 9/28 seats vacant Simeon Timothy Lake III, Southern District of Texas, senior status, July 5, 2019, 3/19 seats vacant Future Vacancies: 11  ( - 4 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 1  ( ±  0 this week) Hearings held and s

This week, the Senate is out of session, with senators back in their home-states for Independence Day.  Pro forma  sessions (to prevent recess appointments) will be held on July 2nd and July 5th. Next week, the Senate will return to consider seven nominations, including four to the judiciary.