Marco Rubio Slammed By Black Lawmakers Over Stalled Judicial Nominees

[UCmeNdc]

Rubio and fellow Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D) recommended Brian Davis and William Thomas last year to President Barack Obama to fill vacancies on two U.S. district courts in Florida. But the nominations have since stalled in the Senate because Rubio won't provide a "blue slip" to the Senate Judiciary Committee, a customary step that signals a senator's consent to proceed with nominees from his or her state. Without a blue slip, the committee chairman won't bring up a nominee.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/17/marco-rubio-judicial-nominees_n_3612624.html?ref=topbar


Rubio is part of the GOP gate keepers.

[Tx4obama]

1. Another problem RED states is that some senators won't even bring forth a slate of nominee names

See below...

May 2013

-snip-

A major reason Obama has tapped fewer judges, HuffPost's Jen Bendery recently reported, has to do with Senate tradition, which requires home state senators to put forward a slate of acceptable nominees from which the president chooses. But GOP senators have declined to put forward a slate. In some cases, they have then subsequently complained about the slow pace of nominations.

-snip-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/obama-judicial-nominations_n_3345267.html

And an article from April 2013

Obama's Judicial Nominees Blocked On All Sides By Senate Republicans

WASHINGTON -- It's bad enough that there are 82 vacant federal judge slots around the country, a level so high that many observers have deemed it a crisis situation.

But perhaps even more startling is the fact that of those 82 vacant slots, 61 of them don't even have a nominee.

On its face, the absence of nominees would appear to be a sign that President Barack Obama is slacking. After all, he is responsible for nominating judges, and he did put forward fewer nominees at the end of his first term than his two predecessors. But a closer look at data on judicial nominees, and conversations with people involved in the nomination process, reveals the bigger problem is Republican senators quietly refusing to recommend potential judges in the first place.

The process for moving judicial nominees is simple enough. A president takes the lead on circuit court nominees, while, per longstanding tradition, a senator kickstarts the process for district court nominees, which make up the bulk of the federal court system. Senators make recommendations from their home states, and the president works with them to get at least some of the nominees confirmed -- the idea being that senators, regardless of party, are motivated to advocate for nominees from their states. The White House may look at other nominees on its own, but typically won't move forward without input from the corresponding senators. Once a nominee is submitted to the Senate, he or she receives a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. If approved, the nomination heads to the Senate floor for a full vote.

-snip-

Full article here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/29/obama-judicial-nominees_n_3156050.html

[msongs]

2. it is a tradition not law. the president can submit his own nominees ... if he w anted to nt