December 23, 2004
Private: President Bush to Renominate Blocked Judicial Nominees
The White House announced today that President Bush plans to renominate 20 candidates for seats on the federal judiciary. All 20 candidates, 12 circuit court nominations and 8 for district court seats, either had their confirmations blocked Senate filibuster or never received consideration. The White House declared, "An effective and efficient judicial system is vital to ensuring justice for all Americans. The president nominated highly qualified individuals to the federal courts during his first term, but the Senate failed to vote on many nominations." The nominees include William Pryor, Priscilla Owen, and Janice Rogers Brown. The L.A. Times is reporting, "The move by Bush signals that the president, propelled by socially conservative voters and a wider Republican majority in the Senate, hopes to use his second term to move the federal courts to the right on such issues as religion, abortion and gay rights."
Even the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed reservations about the timing of the White House announcement. "I would have preferred to have had some time in the 109th Congress to try to cool the climate to avoid judicial gridlock and future filibusters." Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid (D-Nev), said, "I was extremely disappointed to learn today that the president intends to begin the new Congress by resubmitting extremist judicial nominees." Arlen Spector, the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned the timing of the announcement, "I would have preferred to have had some time in the 109th Congress to try to cool the climate to avoid judicial gridlock and future filibusters."
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said, "This is really unfinished business. It's time we give these nominees an up or down vote." Some republicans have labeled the senate democrats obstructionists for filibustering judicial nominations, but Reid responded, "Last Congress, Senate Democrats worked with the president to approve 204 judicial nominees, rejecting only 10 of the most extreme. Our swift action reduced the vacancy rate on our courts to the lowest level in fifteen years, and outpaced the confirmation rate of Reagan, Clinton and former President Bush."
The other nominees include, Terrence Boyle, David McKeague, Susan Neilson, Henry Saad, Richard Griffin, William Myers, Brett Kavanaugh, William Haynes, Thomas Griffith, James Dever, Thomas Ludington, Robert Conrad, Daniel Ryan, Peter Sheridan, Paul Crotty, Sean Cox, and J. Michael Seabright.