This Week in the Senate: 2/10/2020

This week, the Senate is holding votes on five nominations, 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 invoke cloture on the nomination of Judge Andrew Brasher of the Middle District of Alabama to be a Judge of the Eleventh Circuit. Brasher is opposed by Democrats for his work as Solicitor General of Alabama, and since Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) has not returned a blue slip on his nomination, he will likely be confirmed along party lines, or close to them. If confirmed, Brasher would succeed Chief Judge Ed Carnes, who has previously indicated that he will not take senior status before June 30, 2020, so Brasher will have to wait a few months for his new job to open up.

Tuesday:

• The Senate will vote to confirm Brasher, and then will vote to invoke cloture on the nominations of Department of the Interior regional solicitor Joshua Kindred to be a Judge of the District of Alaska, Husch Blackwell partner Matthew Schelp to be a Judge of the Eastern District of Missouri, General Counsel of the College of DuPage John Kness to be a Judge of the Northern District of Illinois, and Collier Halpern & Newberg managing partner Philip Halpern to be a Judge of the Southern District of New York. Kindred is opposed by Democrats for the many comments he's made about the environment and his work for the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. If confirmed, he would fill a vacancy from 2015, which is currently the oldest opening in a state with two Republican senators. Schelp, Kness, and Halpern are relatively less controversial, and if confirmed, they would fill vacancies from August 2020 (like Brasher, Schelp will have to wait a few months for a seat to open up), 2018, and 2017, respectively. Kness and Halpern would fill judicial emergencies.

Wednesday:

• The Senate will vote to confirm Kindred, Schelp, Kness, and Halpern.

Thursday:

• No votes have been scheduled.

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

District Court / Court of Federal Claims:

1. John Leonard Badalamenti, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida
2. Kathryn C. Davis, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims
3. Anna M. Manasco, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama
4. Drew B. Tipton, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas

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 Federal Claims:

1. John Charles Hinderaker, to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Arizona (3)
2. Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California (2)
3. Stanley Blumenfeld, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California (2)
4. Grace Karaffa Obermann, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims (2)
5. Mark C. Scarsi, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California (2)
6. Stephen Sidney Schwartz, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims (2)
7. William Scott Hardy, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania (1)
8. John F. Heil III, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma (1)
9. David Cleveland Joseph, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana (1)
10. Edward Hulvey Meyers, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims (1)
11. Cory T. Wilson, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi (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 (2/10/2020): Business meeting not occurring this week.