Thanks to Senator Jeff Flake, the Senate’s lame duck session is turning out to be a disappointment on the judicial nominations front thus far.
Last Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley cancelled the Committee’s executive business meeting as a result of Sen. Flake’s continuing hold on judicial nominees, which Flake announced on November 14th. Sen. Flake said that he would oppose all of President Trump’s judicial nominees until legislation to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired was brought to a vote on the Senate Floor. (Note that such a bill is widely viewed to be unconstitutional.)
Sen. Flake sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and without his vote, a total of 21 judicial nominees (including six circuit court nominees and 15 district court nominees) remain stranded in the Committee, which Republicans control by a one-vote margin. This is to say nothing of the 33 judicial nominees who are currently waiting on the Senate Floor for confirmation votes. Up until now, the nominations process has been running smoothly and has been an exceptional example of cooperation between the White House and GOP Senators. It is a shame to see this process breaking down during the lame duck session.
This week, the Senate is expected to vote on the confirmation of Jonathan Kobes, President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Last Thursday, the Senate narrowly voted to end debate on the Kobes nomination, with Vice President Pence breaking the tie—again because of Sen. Flake’s opposition. (Because Senator Jim Inhofe had to miss the vote, Sen. Flake did, however, agree to vote live pair, or present, to offset Inhofe’s missed “yea” vote.)
Here is a full update on the status of President Trump’s federal judicial nominations:
Current and known future vacancies: 159
Courts of Appeals: 16
District/Specialty Courts*: 143
Pending nominees for current and known future vacancies: 73
Courts of Appeals: 13
District/Specialty Courts*: 60
* Includes the Court of Federal Claims and the International Trade Court
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings
| Nominee (Circuit) | Nomination Date | Days Pending | Both Blue Slips Returned? | Judiciary Committee Hearing Date |
| Joseph Bianco (2nd) | 11/13/2018 | 21 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Michael Park (2nd) | 11/13/2018 | 21 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Patrick Bumatay (9th) | 11/13/2018 | 21 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Dan Collins (9th) | 11/13/2018 | 21 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Ken Lee (9th) | 11/13/2018 | 21 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Neomi Rao (DC) | 11/14/2018 | 20 | N/A | Not yet scheduled |
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Judiciary Committee Votes
| Nominee (Circuit) | Nomination Date | Days Pending | Judiciary Committee Hearing Date |
| Eric Murphy (6th) | 6/18/2018 | 169 | 10/10/2018 |
| Chad Readler (6th) | 6/18/2018 | 169 | 10/10/2018 |
| Eric Miller (9th) | 7/19/2018 | 138 | 10/24/2018 |
| Bridget Shelton Bade (9th) | 8/27/2018 | 99 | 10/24/2018 |
| Allison Jones Rushing (4th) | 8/27/2018 | 99 | 10/17/2018 |
| Paul Matey (3rd) | 4/12/2018 | 236 | 11/14/2018 |
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Floor Votes
| Nominee (Circuit) | Nomination Date | Days Pending | Date Reported to Senate Floor |
| Jonathan Kobes (8th) | 6/11/2018 | 176 | 10/11/2018 |
Nominees Awaiting Floor Votes: 33
Courts of Appeals: 1
Nominees Confirmed by the Senate: 84
Supreme Court: 2
Courts of Appeals: 29
District/Specialty Courts: 53
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