Well, not exactly. But, in line with my recommendations on this blog, the president has nominated -- or renominated -- dozens of judicial nominees:
Faced with the prospect of increasingly lengthy court vacancies, the White House on Wednesday formally renominated more than 40 judicial candidates whose possible appointments were left in limbo during the last congressional session.
The Obama administration sent the dozens of nominations -- 23 of which an official categorized as "emergency" nominees -- back to the Senate, where they will be considered anew by the Judiciary Committee. They may face an additional round of committee hearings, a Senate aide said, but that will be determined by Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and the ranking Republican, likely to be, according to a Senate aide, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Among the nominees? Goodwin Liu, the University of California law professor who is on the shortlist for a Democratic Supreme Court appointment. This is a good move by the administration. As I've noted before, Obama has been exceptionally slow with the pace of his nominations, which -- in addition to Republican obstruction -- has left the federal judiciary with an unprecedented number of unfilled seats.
On that note, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have formed a "joint working group" to improve the pace of judicial confirmations. Obviously, I don't know the particulars of internal Senate politics, but a working group doesn't actually seem necessary for headway on judicial confirmations.
There is nothing to stop Reid from ignoring holds and forcing action on judicial nominees, even with the larger Republican minority. Reid can devote more floor time to judicial confirmations, and with rules changes, turn the process into a more streamlined affair, with fewer opportunities for obstruction and less timely cloture votes. Besides, while a working group sounds nice, it reinforces the apparent GOP view that there is something problematic in giving the president deference for his judicial nominees.
-- Jamelle Bouie
