This Week in the Senate: 11/18/2019

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This week, the Senate is holding votes on three nominations, including two to the judiciary, and the Judiciary Committee will convene an executive business meeting.

Floor Action:¹
Monday:
  • The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of Florida Supreme Court Justice Robert Luck to be a Judge of the Eleventh Circuit. Luck's nomination is relatively noncontroversial, and if confirmed, he would succeed Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat, the last  judicial appointee of President Gerald Ford. Interestingly enough, Tjoflat has served on the courts of appeals since before Luck was born.
Tuesday:
  • The Senate will vote to confirm Luck, and then will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Lagoa to be a Judge of the Eleventh Circuit. Lagoa's nomination is also relatively noncontroversial, and if confirmed, she would succeed Judge Stanley Marcus, who is an appointee of President Bill Clinton, and would "flip" the court to a majority of Republican appointees in the process.
Wednesday:
  • The Senate will vote to confirm Lagoa, and then will invoke cloture on and confirm the nomination of Adrian Zuckerman to be Ambassador to Romania.
Thursday:
  • No votes have been scheduled, but the Senate will likely consider a continuing resolution extending appropriations for the federal government through December 20, 2019.
    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. Patrick J. Bumatay, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit (2)
      2. Lawrence VanDyke, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit (2)
      District Court:
      1. Philip M. Halpern, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York (2)
      2. Bernard Maurice Jones II, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma (2)
      3. Barbara Bailey Jongbloed, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Connecticut (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.

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