This Week in the Senate: 9/9/2019

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 Office of Foreign Missions. Then, there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of Dale Cabaniss to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management.

Wednesday:

• The Senate will vote to confirm the Cabaniss nomination, and will then vote to invoke cloture on and confirm the nomination of James Byrne to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affiars. Next, there will be cloture and confirmation votes on the nomination of Michelle Bowman to be a Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for a term expiring in 2034 (she is currently filling out a term expiring next year). Then, there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of Thomas Feddo to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security.

Thursday:

• The Senate will vote to confirm the Feddo nomination, and will then vote to invoke cloture on and confirm the nomination of Jennifer Nordquist to be the United States' director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

There is a pending unanimous consent agreement to vote at a time TBD on confirmation of the following district court nominees (any or all of the votes could occur this week):

1. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Haines to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, in Johnstown. This nomination is noncontroversial. Haines would fill a vacancy from 2017.
2. Justice Ada E. Brown of the Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, in Dallas. This nomination is relatively noncontroversial. Brown would fill a judicial emergency from 2013.
3. Nardello & Co. General Counsel Steven D. Grimberg to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, in Atlanta. This nomination is relatively noncontroversial. Grimberg would fill a judicial emergency from 2018.
4. SEC Senior Counsel Steven C. Seeger to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in Chicago. This nomination is noncontroversial. Seeger would fill a judicial emergency from 2016.
5. Rhode Island Public Defender Mary S. McElroy to the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, in Providence. This nomination is noncontroversial, and as McElroy is a renomination from the Obama administration, it's likely next to no senators will oppose her. McElroy would fill a vacancy from 2015.
6. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, in Baltimore. This nomination is noncontroversial, and as Gallagher is a renomination from the Obama administration, it's likely next to no senators will oppose her. Gallagher would fill a judicial emergency from 2016.

On Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee will hold a nominations hearing for the following nominees:

Court of Appeals:

1. Steven J. Menashi, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit

District Court:

1. Karen S. Marston, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
2. Richard E. Myers II, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina
3. Anuraag Singhal, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida

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 (1)

District Court / Court of Federal Claims:

1. David B. Barlow, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Utah (1)
2. R. Austin Huffaker, Jr., to be a U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama (1)
3. John Fitzgerald Kness, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois (1)
4. Eleni Maria Roumel, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims (1)
5. Lee Philip Rudofsky, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas (1)
6. Justin Reed Walker, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky (1)

Department of Justice:

1. Kenneth Charles Canterbury, Jr. to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (1)

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 (9/9/2019): Updated list of nominees at Wednesday's hearing.
Update # 2 (9/10/2019): The business meeting is not occurring this week.