The Judicial Nominations Blog

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 1  ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 1   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 73  ( +  1 ) Dora L. Irizarry, Eastern District of New York, senior status, January 26, 2020, 4/15 seats vacant Future Vacancies: 9   ( - 1 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0  this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 0   ( ±  0 ) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 1   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0 ) Hearings held and still in Committee: 8   ( ±  0 ) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 10   ( ±  0 ) Court of Federal Claims: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0) H...

This week, the Senate is continuing the impeachment trial of President Trump. Floor Action:¹ Monday: The Senate will resume President Trump's impeachment trial. Tuesday: The impeachment trial will continue. Wednesday: The impeachment trial will continue. Thursday: The impeachment trial will continue. Friday: The impeachment trial will continue. Saturday: The impeachment trial will continue. 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.

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 1  ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 1   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 72   ( ±  0 ) Future Vacancies: 10   ( ±  0 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0  this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 0   ( ±  0 ) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 1   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0 ) Hearings held and still in Committee: 8   ( ±  0 ) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 10   ( ±  0 ) Court of Federal Claims: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0) Hearings held and still in Committee: 3   ( ±  0) Reported out of Committee/Pending ...

This week, the Senate is continuing the impeachment trial of President Trump. Floor Action:¹ Monday: The Senate remains in recess for observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Tuesday: The Senate will resume President Trump's impeachment trial. Wednesday: The impeachment trial will continue. Thursday: The impeachment trial will continue. Friday: The impeachment trial will continue. Saturday: The impeachment trial will continue. 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.

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 1  ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 1   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 72   ( ±  0 ) Future Vacancies: 10   ( ±  0 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0  this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 0   ( - 1 ) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 1   ( +  1 ) Andrew Lynn Brasher, of Alabama, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit (Cal. No. 562),  12–10 District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0 ) Hearings held and still in Committee: 8   ( - 4 ) Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha, of California, to be a United States District Judge for the Central District of California ( held over , January 16, 2020) Stanley Blumenfeld, ...

This week, the Senate is holding votes on one nomination, 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 Peter Gaynor to be Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Tuesday: The Senate will vote to confirm Gaynor. Wednesday: The Senate will likely proceed to the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Thursday: It's possible that the Senate will proceed to consideration of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in the morning. The impeachment trial will continue in the afternoon. Friday: The impeachment trial will continue. Saturday: The impeachment trial will continue. 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 th...

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 1  ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 1   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 72   ( +  1 ) Christopher A. Boyko, Northern District of Ohio, senior status, January 6, 2020, 2/11 seats vacant Future Vacancies: 10  ( - 1 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0  this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 1   ( ±  0 ) Andrew Lynn Brasher, of Alabama, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit ( held over , January 9, 2020) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 0   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0 ) Hearings held and still in Committee: 12   ( +  7 ) William Scott Hardy, of Pennsylvania, to be a United States Dist...

The short answer: it depends. The medium-length answer: whatever a majority of the Senate decides is appropriate. The long answer: Per long-standing rules, the Senate gavels in an impeachment trial at 1:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday, until the articles have been disposed of. Assuming these rules aren't changed, that leaves the mornings open for committee business and other matters. Accordingly, the Senate Finance & Judiciary Committees can hold nominations hearings and vote on nominees in business meetings throughout the trial. The Senate can also vote on nominations and legislation on the floor during the morning, before the trial resumes for the day. With the circumstances as they are, I expect Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will play hardball, and will schedule Trump nominees and possibly the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement for morning votes throughout the trial. While no judicial nominees were confirmed from the day the House of Representatives...

This week, the Senate is holding votes on four nominations, including two to the judiciary, and the Judiciary Committee will convene a nominations hearing and  an executive business  meeting . Floor Action:¹ Monday: At 5:00, Senator-Designate Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) will be sworn in. The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of Treasurer of the United States Jovita Carranza to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Tuesday: The Senate will vote to confirm Carranza. Wednesday: The Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the nominations of Matthew H. Solomson and Eleni M. Roumel to be Judges of the Court of Federal Claims. Solomson's nomination is relatively noncontroversial, and if confirmed, he would fill a judicial vacancy from 2013. Roumel is opposed by Democrats due to her work with Defense of Marriage Act litigation while in the House of Representatives' Office of General Counsel, and her limited experience with ...

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 1  ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 1   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 71   ( +  2 ) William C. Griesbach, Eastern District of Wisconsin, senior status, December 31, 2019, 2/5 seats vacant Benjamin Hale Settle, Western District of Washington, senior status, January 1, 2020, 5/7 seats vacant Future Vacancies: 11   ( - 3 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0  this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 1   ( - 1 ) Andrew Lynn Brasher, of Alabama, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit ( officially nominated , January 3, 2020) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 0   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( - 18 ) Hearings held and ...