This Week in the Senate: 10/14/2019

This week, the Senate is holding votes on five nominations and two joint resolutions, and the Judiciary Committee will convene a nominations hearing and an executive business meeting.

Floor Action:¹
Monday:

• No votes are scheduled.

Tuesday:

• The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of Barbara McConnell Barrett to be Secretary of the Air Force.

Wednesday:

• The Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Bankruptcy Judge Frank William Volk to be a district judge of the Southern District of West Virginia in Charleston. He would fill a vacancy from late last year. Then, there will be cloture votes on the nominations of Quinn Emanuel partner Charles Eskridge to be a district judge of the Southern District of Texas in Houston, Magistrate Judge David J. Novak to be a district judge of the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond, and Assistant to the Solicitor General Rachel P. Kovner to be a district judge of the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. If confirmed, Eskridge and Kovner would fill judicial emergencies from 2018 and 2016, respectively, and Novak would fill a vacancy from 2018. Eskridge will likely be opposed by some Democrats due to his extensive history of donations to Republican candidates for office, along with his remarks on the Affordable Care Act. Volk, Novak and Kovner are relatively noncontroversial. In the afternoon, the Senate will vote to confirm Barrett and the four district court nominees.

Thursday:

• At 12:00, the Senate will vote on adoption of S.J. Res. 53, a Congressional Review Act joint resolution disapproving of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule. At 1:45, there will be a vote to override President Trump's veto of S.J. Res. 54, a joint resolution disapproving of his national emergency declaration related to the border wall.

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

Court of Appeals:

1. Barbara Lagoa, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit
2. Robert J. Luck, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit

District Court:

1. Silvia Carreño-Coll, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico
2. John M. Gallagher, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
3. Sherri A. Lydon, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of South Carolina

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)
3. Danielle J. Hunsaker, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit (1)
4. William Joseph Nardini, 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. Jodi W. Dishman, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma (1)
8. Karen S. Marston, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1)
9. Richard E. Myers II, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina (1)
10. Sarah E. Pitlyk, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri (1)
11. Anuraag Singhal, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida (1)
12. Daniel Mack Traynor, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of North Dakota (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 (10/18/2019): Updated floor schedule.