This Week in the Senate: 1/6/2020

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 the court's docket. Then, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Sullivan & Cromwell partner Michael DeSombre to be Ambassador to Thailand. Finally, the Senate will vote to confirm Solomson, Roumel, and DeSombre.

Thursday:

• The Senate will vote to invoke cloture on and confirm the nomination of Paul Ray to serve as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

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

District Court / Court of Federal Claims:

1. William Scott Hardy, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania
2. John F. Heil III, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma
3. David Cleveland Joseph, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana
4. Edward Hulvey Meyers, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims
5. Cory T. Wilson, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi

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

District Court / Court of International Trade:

1. John Charles Hinderaker, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Arizona (1)
2. Joshua M. Kindred, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Alaska (1)
3. Scott H. Rash, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Arizona (1)
4. Matthew T. Schelp, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri (1)
5. 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 (1/9/2020): Added Paul Ray to schedule.