This Week in the Senate: 9/23/2019

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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.
Wednesday:
  • The Senate will vote on S.J. Res. 54, a resolution of disapproval relating to President Trump's national emergency declaration. Then, there will be a series of votes on simple resolutions that will act as binding motions on the body's members of the conference committee for the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. Finally, there will be cloture votes on the nominations of Air Force Gen. John Hyten to be Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Eugene Scalia to be Secretary of Labor.
Thursday:
  • The Senate will consider a continuing resolution covering appropriations for the first few weeks of Fiscal Year 2020, and then will vote on confirming the Hyten and Scalia nominations.
On Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee will hold a nominations hearing for the following nominees:
    Court of Appeals:
    1. Danielle J. Hunsaker, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit
    2. William Joseph Nardini, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit
      District Court:
      1. Jodi W. Dishman, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma
      2. Sarah E. Pitlyk, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri
      3. Daniel Mack Traynor, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of North Dakota
      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 after the nominee's name signifies whether this is the first or second time appearing on the agenda; first-time appearances are typically held over and nominees appearing for the second time usually receive votes):
        Court of Appeals:
        1. Halil Suleyman Ozerden, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit (2)
        2. Steven J. Menashi, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit (1)
        District Court / Court of Federal Claims:
        1. David B. Barlow, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Utah (2)
        2. R. Austin Huffaker, Jr., to be a U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama (2)
        3. John Fitzgerald Kness, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois (2)
        4. Eleni Maria Roumel, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims (2)
        5. Lee Philip Rudofsky, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas (2)
        6. Justin Reed Walker, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky (2)
        7. Karen S. Marston, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1)
        8. Richard E. Myers II, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina (1)
        9. Anuraag Singhal, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida (1)
        Department of Justice:
        1. Kenneth Charles Canterbury, Jr. to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (2)
        Notes:

        ¹The floor schedule is an approximate guide to when votes may occur. It may not necessarily be completely accurate due to things changing in the Senate during the week.

        Update # 1 (9/24/2019): Added additional nominees on business meeting agenda.
        Update # 2 (9/24/2019): Added nominees present at Wednesday's hearing.
        Update # 3 (9/27/2019): Business meeting was postponed.
        Update # 4 (9/27/2019): Updated floor schedule.

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