Posted on 06/10/2005 7:14:16 PM PDT by Libloather
Senate deal is done: Three judges are confirmed
The Associated Press
June 10, 2005 6:01AM
WASHINGTON - The GOP-controlled Senate approved former Alabama Attorney General William Pryor and Michigan nominees David McKeague and Richard Griffin Thursday for seats on the U.S. Appeals Court, completing an unprecedented run of long-delayed judicial confirmations.
With a vote of 53-45, Pryor was approved for 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Atlanta-based court that handles federal appeals from Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Griffin was confirmed 95-0 and McKeague 96-0, both for seats on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
''These three nominees have waited a combined total of over eight years for their votes,'' President Bush said in a statement. ''I applaud the Senate for today giving these fine nominees the up-or-down votes they deserve.''
Bush gave Pryor a recess appointment in February 2004 after Democrats filibustered his confirmation. That appointment would have ended this year if Pryor had not been confirmed. Bush said Pryor's service on the 11th Circuit built on a judicial career in which he ''has applied the law fairly and impartially to all people.''
Pryor, 43, watched the vote over the Internet in his office in Birmingham, Ala. Aides brought out cake and champagne to celebrate.
''What a day,'' Pryor said. ''We even managed to get an opinion out.''
The Senate confirmed three of President Bush's most-wanted appellate nominees in less than three weeks after Senate centrists looking to avoid a partisan battle over judicial filibusters struck a deal.
Pryor, Janice Rogers Brown and Priscilla Owen all had been waiting at least two years for Senate confirmation. Democrats have blocked the nominations of judges they consider too conservative.
Democrats had blocked Griffin and McKeague because Michigan's senators were upset at Republicans for refusing to confirm President Clinton's nominees to that court. While the two were not part of the filibuster deal, Democrats decided to allow them through as a gesture of good will.
''I could not be more pleased and proud that Judge Bill Pryor was part of the group that were agreed upon by those members of the Senate to get an up-or-down vote,'' said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., whose own nomination as a federal judge the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected in 1986. ''Bill Pryor is the kind of judge America ought to have.''
Democrats had fought to keep Pryor from getting a permanent judgeship. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., sued to get Pryor removed because he felt Bush's recess appointment was illegal. The courts rejected Kennedy's argument. ''After the president didn't get his way with William Pryor, he took the truly extraordinary step of making a recess appointment,'' said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. ''So while the renomination of rejected judges was a thumb in the eye, the recess appointment of Bill Pryor was a punch in the face.''
It takes 60 votes to bypass a filibuster. Republicans were able to get 53 votes for Pryor in July 2003 and 51 votes that November. On Wednesday the Senate voted 67-32 to end Pryor's filibuster.
The Senate also plans to advance the nomination of Terrence Boyle, a North Carolina judge nominated to the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Va., though a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee was delayed.
but two judges still remain filibustered, Saad and someone else. Bush's UN nominee, Bolton, is still filibustered.
The language says they will be fillibustered, but I just made a bet that Saad will get confirmed. Truthfully I'm not confident I will win, but before the agreement 7 of 7 judges were not confirmed. Now 5 are. I have faith that Saad will get his vote. IMO the nuclear option would have given cover for the rats and it is likely many of the 5 confirmed judges would have lost the vote. rats would have been so angry that RINOs would not have confirmed Pryor or Brown.
On March 21st I posted this "The real pay off is going to be the judges who will have a long term impact. The rats are obstructing some judges but I'm starting to think we will get them confirmed without using a nuclear option, but if not the obstructions will help us elect more Republicans in 06( hopefully enough to get 60 Senate seats) but we are already confirming some great judges to replace rat judges. And it's happening on state levels too. Having majorities in state legislatures and Governor seats is helping elect Republican judges. The problem is it takes time."
Also, in the future the deal calls for a return to status quo....is that correct? Everyone is now free to filibuster, fight, nuke, whatever?
That's the way I read it too.
A short summary of all the Circuit Court Nominations is below. At this moment in time, no judge is being held up, and no judge (other than Griffith) is being advanced.
Bolton's cloture vote is "hanging fire." If Frist's Motion to Reconsider passes (the Motion to Reconsider passes on a simple majority), then the cloture vote will be conducted again. The results of the first cloture vote will be "as if that vote never happened." The timing on taking up the motion to reconsider is indefinite - probably after the Energy Bill.
Aren't the two judges being held up by 'holds' from the Michigan Senators rather than filibustered?..... Saad and Neilson.
Neilson is not contentious at all. In fact, Reid already offered to vote on her nomination. Of the others, the chart is helpful to figure out which is more likely to be brought to the floor first, which is likely to trigger some interesting parliamentary moves, etc.
F = 7 subjected to failed cloture motions in 108th Congress
4 = "1 of 4" that DEMs offered to let GOP choose which 3 to dump
S = Positive mention in Specter's May 9, 2005 speech
M = MOU of 14 will not vote against cloture
m = MOU of 14 makes no promise regarding cloture
R = Reid indicates desire to filibuster
C = Out of committee & on the Senate's Executive Calendar
U = Unanimous consent to debate - date TBD
D = Democrats offer to debate - date TBD
v = Debate and vote scheduled
V = Vote -on the nomination- concluded
--S -- --- Boyle, Terrence W. (4th Cir)
--- -R --- Haynes, William James II (4th Cir)
F4S M- CUV Owen, Priscilla (5th Cir)
F-S -- CUV Griffin, Richard A. (6th Cir)
F-S -- CUV McKeague, David W. (6th Cir)
--S -- -D- Neilson, Susan Bieke (6th Cir)
F-- mR --- Saad, Henry W. (6th Cir)
F4S mR C-- Myers, William Gerry III (9th Cir)
F4S M- CUV Pryor, William H. (11th Cir)
F4S M- CUV Brown, Janice Rogers (D.C. Cir)
--S -- CUv Griffith, Thomas B. (D.C. Cir)
--- -R --- Kavanaugh, Brett M. (D.C. Cir)
Last updated, June 9, 2005
Owen: Cloture passed 81-18 on May 24. Confirmed 55-43 on May 25.
Brown: Cloture passed 65-32 on June 7. Confirmed 56-43 on June 8.
Pryor: Cloture passed 67-32 on June 8. Confirmed 53-45 on June 9.
Griffin: Confirmed 95-0 on June 9.
McKeague: Confirmed 96-0 on June 9.
Griffith: 4 Hr. debate Monday, June 13. Vote 10 AM, June 14.
-> Cloture Motions for 108th Congress
-> List of Nominations in the 109th Congress Judiciary Committee
-> Senate Executive Calendar (changes each business day)
-> Senate Roll Call Votes - 109th Congress
-> Specter's Speech of May 9, 2005 (109th Congress - Pages S4632 - S4636)
-> Senators' Memorandum of Understanding - May 23, 2005
-> Reid's agreement of May 24, 2005 (S5857)
-> Brown & Pryor cloture motions of May 26, 2005 (S6061)
-> Order of Business for June 6, 2005 (S6065)
-> AP Report Reid wants to filibuster Haynes & Kavanaugh - May 28, 2005
-> Fox News Report Reid will filibuster Saad & Myers - May 29, 2005
-> Boyle was nominated to 4th Cir. in 1991 too, by GHWB
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as we try to complete the business we have been addressing over the last several weeks, the one remaining item we have not really settled on is the Bolton nomination. I filed a motion to reconsider that vote. There are a lot of ongoing discussions. That is very important business that we need to address in the near future, and we will continue to discuss, as we have over the last couple of days, what the appropriate time is for that nomination to be brought back. I intend to do that.
...
Mr. President, I will yield the floor. We will continue to vote on judges this week, and then next week we will be turning our attention to lowering energy prices, to lowering natural gas prices for Americans, and we will be on that bill until completion. That is the Energy bill.109th Congress - Page S6175 - June 8, 2005
109th Congress - Page S6176 - June 8, 2005
Nothing that I said warrants your remark. Take your remark and stick someplace appropriate.
No. You tell that to the millions of babies aborted every year. You are the one that considers it to be a law, I dont. Congress never passed it. No President ever signed it.
The national right to life has also sold out in the past. In 2000, they backed Bush because they felt the threat of McCain. I don't blame them completely for it, but they could have backed Keyes over Bush in 2000.
Fine.
Aren't the two judges being held up by 'holds' from the Michigan Senators rather than filibustered?..... Saad and Neilson.
It means he's anti-hammer, anti-wrench AND anti-screwdriver...
The shirt on the girl in the picture says "Democrats are sexy *** whoever heard of a nice piece of elephant?"
I couldn't help but wonder if Democrats often made it with animals. :)
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