07/27/2010
Office of U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill
United States Senate
Hart Senate Office Building, Ste. 717
Washington, D.C. 20510
Senator McCaskill:
Today the President of the United States highlighted a concern that I have expressed to you on 26 previous occasions. "Right now, we’ve got nominees who’ve been waiting up to eight months to be confirmed as judges" the President noted in the Rose Garden. The nominee who has been waiting more than 8 months for an up or down vote is Jane Branstetter Stranch (nominee, 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals). On Nov 19th, 2009 the US Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination on a bipartisan vote. The President continued:
"Most of these folks were voted out of committee unanimously, or nearly unanimously, by both Democrats and Republicans. Both Democrats and Republicans agreed that they were qualified to serve. Nevertheless, some in the minority have used parliamentary procedures time and again to deny them a vote in the full Senate.
If we want our judicial system to work -- if we want to deliver justice in our courts -- then we need judges on our benches. And I hope that in the coming months, we’ll be able to work together to ensure a timelier process in the Senate."
I understand that you have been a strong proponent of ending secret holds in the Senate. While you deserve a great deal of credit for this, a secret hold does not prevent the Majority leader from filling for cloture. The fact that this has not occurred more than 8 months is a problem within the Democratic majority, not a lone anonymous Republican obstructionist. As such, I will continue to write to you and Senate Majority Leader every weekday until such time as this noncontroversial and qualified nominee is confirmed.
Sincerely,
(snip)
cc: Senator Reid
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