This Week in the Senate: 12/2/2019

This week, the Senate is holding votes on ten nominations, including eight to the judiciary, 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 confirm Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette to be Secretary. Then, there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of former Viking Global Investors general counsel Eric Komitee to be a Judge of the Eastern District of New York. His nomination is relatively noncontroversial, and if confirmed, he would fill a judicial emergency from 2017.

Tuesday:

• The Senate will vote to confirm Komitee, and then will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Hodgson Russ partner John Sinatra to be a Judge of the Western District of New York, which faces scrutiny from some Senate Democrats over Sinatra's family ties to former Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), who resigned in October after pleading guilty to insider trading. If confirmed, he would fill a judicial emergency from 2015. Then, the Senate will have a cloture vote on the nomination of Thomas More Society special counsel Sarah Pitlyk to be a Judge of the Eastern District of Missouri. Pitlyk is opposed by Democrats and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) for her "not qualified" rating from the American Bar Association and her work for pro-life organizations. The vote on her nomination will likely be along close to party lines. If confirmed, she would fill a vacancy from last year. Finally, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Organ Cole partner Douglas Cole to be a Judge of the Southern District of Ohio. Cole's nomination is relatively noncontroversial, but some Senate Democrats will likely oppose him due to work he did as Ohio Solicitor General.

Wednesday:

• The Senate will vote to confirm Sinatra, Pitlyk, and Cole, and then will vote to invoke cloture on the nominations of Rushton Stakely shareholder R. Austin Huffaker, Jr. to be a Judge of the Middle District of Alabama, Dorsey Whitney partner David Barlow to be a Judge of the District of Utah, UNC Law professor Richard Myers to be a Judge of the Eastern District of North Carolina, and U.S. Attorney Sherri Lydon to be a Judge of the District of South Carolina. With the exception of Myers, all of these nominations are relatively noncontroversial. If confirmed, Huffaker and Barlow would fill vacancies from January, Myers would fill a judicial emergency from 2005, and Lydon would fill a vacancy from last year. Myers will likely be opposed by some Democrats due to his affiliation with the National Rifle Association. Then, there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of former Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan to be a member of the Postal Service's Board of Governors. In the evening, there will be confirmation votes on Huffaker and Barlow.

Thursday:

• The Senate will vote to confirm Myers, Lydon, and Duncan.

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

Court of Appeals:

1. Andrew Lynn Brasher, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit

District Court:

1. Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California
2. John Charles Hinderaker, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Arizona
3. Joshua M. Kindred, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Alaska
4. Scott H. Rash, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Arizona
5. Matthew T. Schelp, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri

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):

District Court / Court of International Trade / Court of Federal Claims:

1. Stanley Blumenfeld, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California (1)
2. Grace Karaffa Obermann, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims (1)
3. Mark C. Scarsi, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California (1)
4. Stephen A. Vaden, to be a Judge of the United States Court of International Trade (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 (12/2/2019): Updated nominations hearing agenda.
Update # 2 (12/3/2019): Business meeting not occurring.