Since
Republicans took control of the Senate in January 2015, the process
that would enable Mr. Obama to fill vacancies on the 12 regional federal
courts of appeal has essentially been halted. Mr. Obama has managed
only one appointment because Republican senators have refused to sign
off ahead of time on nominees for judgeships in their states — a traditional step before a president makes a nomination.
...
Just as there is no precedent
for leaving a Supreme Court seat open because it is an election year,
as Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, vowed to do hours after
Justice Scalia’s death was announced, there is also none for virtually
shutting down the appointment of new appeals court judges so early. Each
of Mr. Obama’s predecessors since Ronald Reagan also faced a Senate
controlled by the opposing party, yet they appointed between 10 and 18
appellate judges in their last two years in office.
...
Republicans have framed their resistance as payback
for the decision by Democrats in 2013 to change Senate rules and
eliminate the ability of lawmakers in the minority to block confirmation
votes with a filibuster. Republicans had used the tactic with unprecedented frequency
while in the minority to slow or block Mr. Obama’s nominees as part of a
tit-for-tat dating to 1987, when Senate Democrats rejected Reagan’s
nomination of Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court.
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