New committee chairman Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) takes his seat for a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill January 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) (Photo: )
WASHINGTON -- Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. And in this Senate, even a judicial nominee moves forward on occasion.
It took eight months, but the Judiciary Committee easily cleared circuit court nominee Luis Felipe Restrepo on Thursday. He had so much support he passed on a voice vote. It was over in a matter of seconds.
Restrepo is the latest casualty of Republicans' decision to slow-walk President Barack Obama's judicial picks, with some hoping they can hold out until 2016, when a Republican may be in the White House, to fill the bulk of the 62 federal court vacancies that currently exist. The Senate has confirmed a total of five district or circuit court nominees this year. In contrast, when Democrats controlled the Senate during President George W. Bush's seventh year in office, they had confirmed 25 of his judicial picks by this point in the year.
When judicial vacancies go unfilled, cases get backed up and people have to wait -- and wait -- for justice.
In Restrepo's case, it was his own home-state senator holding him up, even though he supported the nomination (something that other GOP senators have done to nominees from their states, too). Obama nominated Restrepo in November to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Both of his home-state senators, Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), sang his praises at the time. But up until May, Toomey prevented Restrepo from getting a hearing by withholding his so-called "blue slip," which is literally a blue piece of paper that senators turn in to the committee to let their nominees advance.
The Huffington Post asked Toomey in May why he was delaying Restrepo's nomination, but Toomey answered in a confusing manner and walked away quickly. He finally turned in his blue slip the following week, and after another two months passed, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, scheduled Restrepo's vote.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, lamented Thursday that Restrepo has been "languishing" and wondered aloud when Republicans would step up the pace of judicial nominees. Grassley, who has given numerous reasons for Restrepo's delays -- committee members wanted answers to more questions, Toomey withheld his blue slip, a committee member asked that Restrepo be held over from the last hearing -- was not amused by Leahy's remarks.
"Do you really want me to respond?" Grassley asked.
"You're the chairman," Leahy said. "You're the one who could move these anytime you want to on the floor, so feel free."
That was the end of that.
As of Thursday's hearing, which advanced Restrepo and two other district court nominees, there are eight district and circuit court nominees ready for a Senate floor vote. Another eight are waiting for a Judiciary Committee hearing. Some of those nominees, including Restrepo, would fill a vacancy that's been deemed a judicial emergency. That means that the volume of cases per panel of judges on the court in question exceeds 700, or has been between 500 and 700 for more than 18 months.
The Senate made a bit of history earlier this week when it confirmed its first circuit court nominee of the year, Kara Farnandez Stoll, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Stoll, who is Latina, is the first woman of color to serve on that court.
CORRECTION: This article was corrected to note that Kara Farnandez Stoll is the first woman of color to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Pure Joy
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Dabbing
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Pelosi Victory
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks to the media after winning the House Democratic leadership election on Nov. 30, 2016.
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Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) arrives in the Capitol for the Senate Democrats' policy lunch on Nov. 16, 2016, after returning from the campaign trail.
New Leadership
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) leaves after the weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the Capitol on Nov. 16, 2016. Schumer was elected as the incoming Senate minority leader in the morning.
Senate Visit
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House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is seen at a press conference at the Capitol on Nov. 15, 2016, after he was renominated by his conference to hold the position in the upcoming Congress.
Just The Hats For The Job
Make America Great Again hats sit on chairs before the start of a morning Republican event at the Capitol on Nov. 15, 2016.
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Hanks
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Wide-Eyed
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) speaks during a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs hearing, "Fifteen Years After 9/11: Threats to the Homeland," on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2016.
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Actor Michael Kelly, who plays Doug Stamper on "House of Cards," take a selfie with a fan in the Capitol while on the Hill advocating for the Older Americans Act on Sept. 21, 2016.
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Ivanka Trump (center), daughter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, meets with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and other women GOP members of Congress at the Republican National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill on Sept. 20, 2016.
Rotunda Stroll
San Suu Kyi, state counsellor of Myanmar, and Frank Larkin, Senate sergeant-at-arms, walk through the Capitol Rotunda between meetings with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate leaders on Sept. 15, 2016.
Quacky Day
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Back With Congress
From left, U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence joins House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) for a news conference following a weekly policy meeting at the Republican headquarters on Capitol Hill on Sept. 13, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
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Attorney General Testifies
Attorney General Loretta Lynch is sworn in before giving testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on July 12, 2016.
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Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), center, marches with a group of demonstrators from Capitol Hill to The White House on July 7, 2016. Protesters gathered in Washington in response to the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
FBI Testimony
FBI Director James Comey testifies before the House Oversight Committee on the agency's investigation into Hillary Clinton's email system on July 7, 2016.
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wears a rainbow armband as she attends a news conference accompanied by members of the House Democratic Caucus to call on House Speaker Paul Ryan to allow a vote on gun violence prevention legislation on June 22, 2016.
Democrats' Sit-In
A photo shot and tweeted from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. House Rep. Katherine Clark shows Democratic members of the House staging a sit-in on the House floor "to demand action on common sense gun legislation" on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 22, 2016.
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Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan look on as India Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledges applause as he arrives to address a joint meeting of Congress in the House chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 8, 2016.
Hollywood On The Hill
Actress Helen Mirren testifies before a joint Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing to discuss legislation to "facilitate the return of stolen artwork by the Nazis during the Holocaust" on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 7, 2016.
Subway Servicing
Capitol crews work to restore service to the Senate subway line running to the Russell Senate Office Building on May 17, 2016. The trains were out of service as senators made their way to the Capitol for the weekly Senate policy luncheons.
Rally By The Reflecting Pool
Bunny Woloszczak of Hurleyville, New York, places a protest sign near the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool as part of a "We The People Rally" to bring awareness about Lyme disease May 19, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
Fighting Addiction
U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.) speaks during a news conference on the opioid epidemic on May 19, 2016, on Capitol Hill. Legislators held a news conference to discuss their support for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act.
Can You Tell Me How To Get...
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Standing Up For Young Athletes
Karen Zegel, whose son Patrick Risha (photograph on the table) took his own life after suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations during a hearing about concussions in youth sports in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 13, 2016.
The Donald Visits
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at the Republican National Committee for a meeting with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 12, 2016.
Silent Snickers
From left, Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) conduct a news conference on April 20, 2016, in the Capitol to discuss the federal government's role in strengthening drinking water infrastructure. They are reacting to Schumer's decision to not make remarks.
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From left, Shandra Woworuntu, a survivor of sex-trafficking, Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) prepare for a news conference to announce Visa Transparency Anti-Trafficking Act on the East Front of the Capitol on April 20, 2016.
GRAMMYs On The Hill
Singer, songwriter, actor and author Tyrese Gibson (left) and Kathy Sledge (center) of Sister Sledge lead participants of GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day in a busking demonstration in Upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill on April 14, 2016. (Photo by Paul Morigi/WireImage for The Recording Academy)
Democracy Spring
Activists of the grassroots Democracy Spring movement carry signs during a march near the Capitol on April 14, 2016.
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