As I wrote in an earlier post,
Schumer is the filibuster king. As a freshman Democrat from New York, he broke what he called a taboo to say the Senate publicly should make ideology a factor in confirming judges. He vowed to oppose any nominee for confirmation by President G.W. Bush.
Never has any party used the filibuster anytime in our nation’s history like Schumer. Before Schumer, it was a rarity for a nominee to the Supreme Court to be held up with a filibuster. Even the contentious nomination of Clarence Thomas was confirmed with a simple vote.
Schumer joined then-Sen. Barack Obama in voting against cloture on the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. In 2003, Schumer accused Bush’s nominee to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Charles Pickering, of opposing civil rights. The Senate Judiciary Committee in March 2002 voted 10-9 to block the nomination, when the Senate was under Democratic control. Bush renominated Pickering in January 2003 after Republicans recaptured the Senate, but Democrats, with Schumer’s leadership, filibustered the nomination.
Schumer also led the charge against the confirmation of Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He did everything in his power to deny Estrada a simple up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate — a vote that would have confirmed Estrada with bipartisan support. Seven cloture votes were filed on the Estrada nomination. Schumer voted against cloture each time. After nearly two-and-a-half years after Estrada was first nominated to the D.C. Estrada withdrew his name from consideration.
Eight other conservative court of appeals nominees were also filibustered. These 8 were Priscilla Owen, Carolyn Kuhl, David W. McKeague, Henry Saad, Richard Allen Griffin, William H. Pryor, William Gerry Myers III and Janice Rogers Brown.[
This is how Schumer blocks confirmations to uphold his ideological litmus test.
I should know by now EDT. 1130.
The Senate is done by noon.