Reid Files Cloture on 17 Judicial Nominations
Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement after the Majority Leader filed cloture on 17 judicial nominees. The Senate has regularly confirmed judicial nominees throughout the 112th Congress, similar to previous congresses. In addition, the President has failed to nominate people for more than half of the judicial vacancies (44 of 83 vacancies have no nomination), and has nominated far fewer nominees than either President Clinton (46 fewer) or President Bush (42 fewer) during a similar time frame in their presidencies (first three years of presidency).
“The Senate has demonstrated that it is moving judicial nominees through the confirmation process. After the progress that’s been made, filing cloture on more than a dozen nominees is simply a ploy by the Majority Leader to build political rhetoric for the president. When the Senate works cooperatively to get things done, and it’s rewarded by a political stunt like this, the American people should be concerned. Americans are worried about gas prices, jobs and the economy. The last thing the Senate should be doing is spending time on meaningless procedural votes.”
