The Judicial Nominations Blog

This week, the Senate is holding votes on 21 nominations, three joint resolutions, and one bill, and the Judiciary Committee will convene a nominations hearing and an executive business meeting. Floor Action: Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to override President Trump's vetoes of S.J. Res. 36 , 37 , and 38 , which all relate to congressional disapproval of American arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Immediately following those three votes will be a cloture vote on the nomination of Greenburg Traurig shareholder Michael T. Liburdi to be a judge of the District of Arizona. Then, there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of Vogel Law Firm partner Peter D. Welte to be a judge of the District of North Dakota. The rest of the week's schedule is pretty fluid because Republican leadership has outlined a pretty heavy agenda (in the guise of a pre-August recess deal), as follows: Confirm Greenburg Traurig shareholder Michael T. Liburdi ...

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 4 ( ±  0  this week) Future Vacancies: 2  ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 113   ( - 2 ) 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: 1  ( ±  0) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 0   ( ±  0) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 10   ( ±  0) Hearings held and still in Committee: 2   ( ±  0) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 38 ( - 2 ) Court of Federal Claims: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 1   ( ±  0) Hearings held and still in Committee: 1   ( ±  0) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 2  ( ...

This week, the Senate is holding votes on four nominations and one bill, and the Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting to consider one bill. Floor Action: Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of Secretary of the Army Mark Esper to be Secretary of Defense. Tuesday: If cloture is invoked on the Esper nomination, the Senate will vote to confirm it at 12:00 pm, and then there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of former Delta Airlines executive Stephen Dickson to be Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. At 2:30 pm, there will be a series of three votes on H.R. 1327 , a bill which extends the provisions of the Zadroga Act through Fiscal Year 2092. Wednesday: A confirmation vote on the Dickson nomination will occur at 11:00 am. Then, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Judge  Wendy Williams Berger  of the Fifth District Court of Appeal to be a judge of the Midd...

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 4 ( - 1   this week) Future Vacancies: 2  ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 115   ( ±  0) Peter J. Phipps, Western District of Pennsylvania, elevation to Third Circuit, July 16, 2019, 5/10 seats vacant Future Vacancies: 10  ( - 1 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 0  ( - 1  this week) Hearings held and still in Committee: 1  ( +  1 ) Halil Suleyman Ozerden, of Mississippi, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit ( hearing held , July 17, 2019) Reported out of Committee/Pending on Executive Calendar: 0   ( - 1 ) District Courts: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 10   ( - 2 ) Hearings held and still in Committee: 2   ( - 2 ) David B. Barlow, of Utah, to be a United States District Judge for the District of Utah...

This week, the Senate is holding votes on four nominations and four treaties, and the Judiciary Committee will convene a nominations hearing and an executive business meeting. Floor Action: Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of U.S. District Judge Judge Peter J. Phipps of the Western District of Pennsylvania to be a judge of the Third Circuit. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has not returned blue slip on Phipps, but like Judge Joseph Bianco, now of the Second Circuit, he is a relatively noncontroversial district judge, so expect some Democrats to defect and support his nomination instead of the party-line vote we have come to expect. Tuesday: After burning close to 30 hours of postcloture debate on the Phipps nomination, there will be a vote on confirmation, and then there will be cloture votes on four tax treaties, one each with Spain, Switzerland, Japan, and Luxembourg. Wednesday: The Senate will vote to ratify the four tre...

Vacancies: Courts of Appeals: Current Vacancies: 5 ( - 1   this week) Future Vacancies: 2  ( ±  0 ) District Courts: Current Vacancies: 115   ( - 3 ) Future Vacancies: 11  ( ±  0 ) Pending Nominations: Courts of Appeals: Pending before Senate Judiciary Committee without hearing: 1  ( ±  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: 12   ( +  2 ) R. Austin Huffaker, Jr., of Alabama, to be a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama ( officially nominated , July 8, 2019) Lee Philip Rudofsky, of Arkansas, to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas ( officially nominated , July 8, 2019) Hearings held and still in Committee: 4  ( ±  0) Douglas Russell C...

This week, the Senate is holding votes on seven nominations, and the Judiciary Committee will convene an executive business meeting. Floor Action: Monday: The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of Kirkland & Ellis partner Daniel Bress to be a judge of the Ninth Circuit. Neither of California's senators returned blue slips for his nomination, due to concerns over his "youth" and because he lives in the Washington, D.C. area . With those issues in mind, this vote will be along party lines. Tuesday: After burning close to 30 hours of postcloture debate on the Bress nomination, there will be a vote on confirmation, and then there will be cloture votes on three district court nominees: Judge T. Kent Wetherell II of the First District Court of Appeal (Northern District of Florida); Barnes & Thornburg partner Damon Leichty (Northern District of Indiana); and K&L Gates partner Nicholas Ranjan (Western District of Pennsylvan...