The Judicial Nominations Blog

This week, the Senate is holding votes on one bill and one nomination, and the Judiciary Committee will convene  an executive business meeting . Floor Action:¹ Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm on the motion to proceed to  S. 4049 , the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. Tuesday: The Senate will continue consideration of the NDAA. Wednesday: The Senate will continue consideration of the NDAA, with votes on amendments likely. Thursday: The Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought to serve as Director of the agency. 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 nom...

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 0  ( - 1  this week) Future Vacancies: 0   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 71   ( ±  0 ) Future Vacancies: 5   ( ±  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: 0   ( - 1 ) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 21   ( - 6 ) Hearings held and still in Committee: 11   ( +  6 ) David W. Dugan, of Illinois, to be a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Illinois ( hearing held , June 24, 2020) Hala Y. Jarbou, of Michigan, to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of Michigan ( hearing held , June 24, 2020) Iain D. Johnston, of Illino...

This week, the Senate is holding votes on two bills and one nomination, 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 Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Cory T. Wilson to serve as a Judge of the Fifth Circuit. Walker is opposed by Democrats due to partisan statements he made as a state legislator, his support for certain voter ID requirements, and for his strident criticism of the Affordable Care Act. If confirmed, he would succeed Judge E. Grady Jolly, a Reagan appointee who took senior status in 2017. On top of filling a judicial emergency, Wilson would fill the last opening on both the Fifth Circuit and the entire federal appellate bench. Wilson would also be President Trump's 200th Article III appointment. Tuesday: The Senate will continue consideration of the Wilson nomination. Wednesday: The Senate will vot...

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 1  ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 0   ( - 1 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 71   ( ±  0 ) Future Vacancies: 5   ( ±  0 ) Justin R. Walker, Western District of Kentucky, elevation to District of Columbia Circuit, September 1, 2020, 1/5 seats vacant 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   ( - 1 ) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 27   ( - 2 ) James P. Arguelles, of California, to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California ( officially nominated , June 18, 2020) Fred Joseph Federici III, of New Mexico, to be a United States District Judge for the ...

This week, the Senate is holding votes on one bill and one nomination, 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 waive the Congressional Budget Act with respect to the substitute Amendment No. 1617 for  H.R. 1957 , Great American Outdoors Act. Then, the Senate will vote to adopt the amendment and to invoke cloture on the bill, as amended. Tuesday: No votes have been scheduled. Wednesday: The Senate will vote on passage of H.R. 1957, as amended. Then, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Judge Justin Walker of the Western District of Kentucky to serve as a Judge of the District of Columbia Circuit. Walker is opposed by Democrats primarily due to his youth, and his vocal criticism of the Affordable Care Act, along with how the Supreme Court has ruled in related cases. If confirmed, he would succeed Judge Thomas Griffi...

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 1  ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 1   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 71   ( +  1 ) Brian M. Cogan, Eastern District of New York, senior status, June 12, 2020, 4/15 seats vacant Future Vacancies: 5   ( ±  0 ) Virginia M. Hernandez Covington, Middle District of Florida, senior status, July 12, 2020, 1/15 seats vacant 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: 2   ( +  1 ) Cory T. Wilson, of Mississippi, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit (Cal. No. 717),  12–10 District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 29   ( ±  0 ) Hearings held and still in ...

This is the first half of a two-part series detailing the future of Trump's Supreme Court list. Past presidential elections have featured presidents promising to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court, or more general vows to appoint justices who follow a given judicial philosophy. Donald Trump followed up on that in 2016 by promising to appoint a justice in the mold of the recently-deceased Justice Antonin Scalia. To make that guarantee to the voters more concrete, the Trump campaign, in conjunction with the Heritage Foundation and other outside conservative groups, and the Federalist Society's Leonard Leo, released two separate lists in the course of the campaign. While this was certainly an unprecedented step at the time, today the Supreme Court is more visible than ever to the electorate, and the 2020 candidates have reacted accordingly. For instance, former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has vowed to appoint an African-American woman to the ...

This week, the Senate is holding votes on one bill, 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 motion to proceed to H.R. 1957 , the vehicle for the Great American Outdoors Act. Tuesday: The Senate will debate H.R. 1957 and related amendments. Wednesday: The floor schedule has not yet been announced. Thursday: The floor schedule has not yet been announced. On Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee will hold a  nominations hearing  for the following nominees: District Court: John W. Holcomb , to be a U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California Brett H. Ludwig, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin R. Shireen Matthews , to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California Todd Wallace Robinson, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern...

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 1  ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 1   ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 70   ( - 2 ) Future Vacancies: 5   ( ±  0 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0   ( ±  0  this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 1   ( - 1 ) Cory T. Wilson, of Mississippi, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit ( held over , June 4, 2020) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 1   ( +  1 ) Justin Reed Walker, of Kentucky, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit (Cal. No. 710),  12–10 District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 29   ( +  1 ) Edmund G. LaCour, Jr., of Alabama, to be a United States District Judge for the Middle District of ...

This week, the Senate is holding votes on five 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 confirm Florida Second District Court of Appeal Judge  John L. Badalamenti  to be a Judge of the Middle District of Florida. Badalamenti is one of the few former public defenders Trump has nominated to the bench, and he might be best-known for arguing Yates v. United States (2015). Badalamenti's nomination is relatively noncontroversial, and if confirmed, he would fill a judicial emergency from 2018. Then, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Victor Mercado to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense. Tuesday: The Senate will vote to confirm Mercado, and then will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Senior Associate White House Counsel Brian D. Miller to be Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. In the...