The Judicial Nominations Blog

This week, the Senate is out of session, with senators back in their home-states for the Columbus Day work period.  Pro forma  sessions (to prevent recess appointments) will be held on October 1st and October 4th. Next week, the Senate will remain in recess.

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 4 ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 4   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 94   ( +  1 ) Ruben Castillo, Northern District of Illinois, senior status, September 27, 2019, 3/22 seats vacant Future Vacancies: 10   ( - 1 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0  ( - 2  this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 4   ( +  2 ) Danielle J. Hunsaker, of Oregon, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit ( hearing held , September 25, 2019) William Joseph Nardini, of Connecticut, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit ( hearing held , September 25, 2019) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 0   ( ±  0) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 6   ( - 3 ) Hearings held and still in Committee: 11   ( +  3 ) Jodi W. Dishman, of Oklaho

This week, the Senate is holding votes on four  six nominations, and the Judiciary Committee will convene a nominations hearing  and an executive business meeting . Floor Action:¹ Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of Brian McGuire to be Deputy Undersecretary of the Treasury. Tuesday: The Senate will vote to confirm the McGuire nomination, and then will vote to invoke cloture on the nominations of Joseph Cella to be Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu, and Daniel Jorjani to be Solicitor of the Department of Interior. Fun fact: Jorjani is the administration's second nominee to this post; the first, Ryan Nelson, wasn't confirmed before being nominated to the Ninth Circuit, where he currently serves. Then, there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of David Black to be Deputy Commissioner of Social Security. After, there will be confirmation votes on the McGuire, Cella, Jorjani, and Black nominations.

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 4 ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 4   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 93   ( ±  0 ) Future Vacancies: 11  ( ±  0 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 2  ( +  2  this week) Danielle J. Hunsaker, of Oregon, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit ( officially nominated , September 19, 2019) William Joseph Nardini, of Connecticut, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit ( officially nominated , September 19, 2019) Hearings held and still in Committee: 2   ( ±  0) Halil Suleyman Ozerden, of Mississippi, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit ( held over , September 19, 2019) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 0   ( ±  0) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 9   ( ±  0) Daniel Mack Traynor, of North D

This week, the Senate is holding votes on five nominations. Floor Action:¹ Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of John Rakolta, Jr. to be United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Tuesday: The Senate will vote to confirm the Rakolta nomination, and will then vote to invoke cloture on and confirm the nomination of Kenneth Howery to be United States Ambassador to Sweden.  Next, there will be cloture votes on the nominations of Robert Destro to be an Assisstant Secretary of State, Brent McIntosh to be an Undersecretary of the Treasury, and Brian Callanan to be General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury. Wednesday: The Senate will vote to confirm the Destro, McIntosh, and Callanan nominations. Thursday: No floor votes have been scheduled. On Thursday, the Judiciary Committee will hold an executive session to vote on and/or hold over the following nominations (the number in the parentheses appearing afte

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 4 ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 4   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 93   ( - 6 ) Future Vacancies: 11  ( +  1 ) Ruben Castillo, Northern District of Illinois, senior status, September 27, 2019, 3/22 seats vacant Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0  ( ±  0 this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 2   ( +  1 ) Steven J. Menashi, of New York, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit ( hearing held , September 11, 2019) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 0   ( ±  0) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 9   ( +  2 ) Jodi W. Dishman, of Oklahoma, to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma ( officially nominated , September 9, 2019) Sarah E. Pitlyk, of Missouri, to be a United States District Judge

This week, the Senate is holding votes on at least eight and up to fourteen nominations, and the Judiciary Committee will convene a nominations hearing and an executive business meeting . Floor Action:¹ Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft to be representative of the United States to the U.N. General Assembly (Craft has technically been nominated to two separate positions, that of Ambassador to the UN, which she was confirmed to in July, and representative to the General Assembly; the second nomination will be voted on this week). Tuesday: The Senate will vote to confirm the Craft nomination, and will then vote to invoke cloture on and confirm the nomination of Elizabeth Darling to be Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services. Next, there will be cloture and confirmation votes on the nomination of Stephen Akard to be Director of the

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 4 ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 4   ( +  1 ) Stanley Marcus, Eleventh Circuit, senior status, March 2, 2020, 2/12 seats vacant ¹ District Courts: Current Vacancies: 99   ( ±  0 ) 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: 7   ( ±  0) Hearings held and still in Committee: 5   ( ±  0) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 23 ( ±  0) 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:

This week, the Senate is out of session, with senators back in their home-states for the August work period.  Pro forma  sessions (to prevent recess appointments) will be held on September 3rd and September 6th. Next week, the Senate will return to consider at least eight nominations and possibly up to fourteen, including six to the judiciary.