President Obama renominated 64 people for federal judgeship Monday, renewing his efforts to win swift confirmation for his nominees after Democrats eased Senate rules in November.
Mr. Obama also sent to the Senate again the nominations for 22 other executive-branch posts ranging from Debo Adegbile, a liberal voting-rights attorney and former child actor chosen for the job of assistant attorney general for civil rights, to Maryland trial lawyer Timothy Boas to become U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands.
The president’s move was needed after Republicans refused to allow a courtesy request to keep the full slate of Obama nominees pending last month. Republicans were protesting, in part, the Democrats’ elimination in November of the filibuster as a tool for blocking nominees.
There are nine appeals-court nominees in the group of names sent to the Senate, including Jill Pryor of Georgia for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, who was first nominated in February 2012. She has been blocked by Georgia’s two Republican senators.
Mr. Obama has complained that Senate Republicans are engaged in unprecedented efforts to block his judicial nominees. While judicial vacancies are up, some studies have shown that Mr. Obama’s nominees have been approved at about the same rate as those of previous presidents.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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