President Trump had four judicial nominees get unexpected approvals from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. One of the nominees was given unanimous consent.
According to The Washington Times, “The committee voted 20-0 for District Court Judge Ralph Ericsson for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Senators also approved two of Mr. Trump’s district court judges, Donald Coggins Jr. for the District of South Carolina and Dabney Friedrich for the District of Columbia, by voice votes.”
One nominee, Stephen Schwarts, was passed on a party-line vote to be on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
In another bit of news, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his opposition to a practice known as the “blue slip.” The practice allows senators voting on judges who will serve in their home state to essentially blackball their nominations completely.
President Trump is having a great influence on Congress, changing the Senate from an archaic organization to a modern legislative body. Nobody outside of Washington cares about old rules created in a time when news didn’t reach people for weeks. It’s time to look at the legislative process and streamline it for today’s challenges.
And since the Democrats feel free to disregard the rules when it’s convenient to them, the Republicans need to stop pretending the Senate is what it once was.
I always thought the Constitution gives the president the sole power to appoint judges. The Senate only has the power to “advise and consent.” Nowhere in our founding document does it say that senators from certain states have the right to single-
Good on McConnell for pushing back on blue slip. The Republican leader’s new orders should be: Don’t talk. Don’t warn. Don’t threaten. Just do.
What do you think about the Senate holding up Trump’s judges and McConnell starting to show some form of action to help push them through after eight months of non-action? SHARE this article on your Twitter/Facebook page and don’t forget to join in the conversation below.
