The Senate is preparing to confirm six of President Trump’s federal appeals court judges this week, including a pick that doesn’t have support from one of his home-state senators and has been Mr. Trump’s longest-pending federal appeals court nominee.
Michael B. Brennan, who was tapped for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, was nominated more than 246 days ago.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, has placed him on the chamber’s agenda for a confirmation vote this week after the Senate Judiciary Committee cleared Mr. Brennan by a party-line vote.
Mr. Brennan is one of six appeals court nominations the Senate is expected to vote on this week, as the GOP tries to fill the courts with Trump picks.
Democrats have objected to the pace of nominations, but take particular exception to Mr. Brennan, after Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Democrat, withheld her “blue slip,” signifying she opposes his nomination.
The blue-slip tradition is a vestige of senatorial courtesy, giving home-state senators a chance to weigh in on judicial nominees from their states. Under the tradition, some chairman had declined to move forward with nominees unless both senators from a state returned their slips, signaling consent.
But Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, has gone another direction, saying blue slips are important but not dispositive.
Ms. Baldwin says Mr. Grassley is trampling on her state’s process, which relies on a bipartisan commission to suggest judges the president might nominate. Ms. Baldwin says Mr. Trump ignored the commission, and fellow Democrats are backing Ms. Baldwin’s objections.
“I find it really very hard — and particularly for a woman senator who has tried so hard, who has worked with her state commission — for her view to be rebuffed in this manner,” the committee’s top Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said.
Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin’s Republican senator, returned his slip, signifying he did back the nomination.
Mr. Grassley said the point of the slips is to get the White House to consult with senators, not to give them a veto. He said he felt comfortable with the level of consultation.
“A negative or unreturned blue slip won’t necessarily prevent a Circuit Court nominee from receiving a hearing, unless the White House failed to consult with home-state senators,” Mr. Grassley said. “After reviewing the record, it’s clear the White House adequately consulted with Senator Baldwin.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said the seat Mr. Brennan would fill was vacant for six years because Mr. Johnson wouldn’t return his blue slip for President Obama’s judicial pick.
“What a double standard! What hypocrisy!” Mr. Schumer said on the chamber floor Monday. “When people ask are we being obstructionists, let the shoe fit as to what happened to this seat on the 7th Circuit.”
Liberal advocacy groups had lobbied against Mr. Brennan, who they say has been a Republican Party activist for years.
The Leadership Conference, a civil and human rights group, said Mr. Brennan contributed more than $10,000 to GOP politicians in 2016.
“If confirmed, Mr. Brennan would have to consider recusing himself in any case involving the Republican Party or Republican officials due to his partisan bias,” wrote Vanita Gupta, president of the Leadership Conference, in a letter opposing his confirmation.
Ms. Gupta also said Mr. Brennan had a “draconian approach to criminal sentencing.”
Her organization points to his time as a Milwaukee County trial judge when he rejected a plea bargain from four young African-American men, who let air out of tires on vehicles rented by Republican Party officials on election day in 2004.
The men were charged with vandalism and reached a plea agreement for a misdemeanor and probation with the county district attorney, but Mr. Brennan rejected the plea and imposed a six month jail sentence.
Sen. Cory Booker, New Jersey Democrat, grilled Mr. Brennan during his confirmation hearing about the existence of implicit racial bias in the judicial system, attempting to force the nominee to acknowledge the disparaging treatment of blacks.
The Senate also plans to hold confirmation votes this week for five other nominees. Those include: Kurt Engelhardt for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Joel Carson for the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, John Nalbandian for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and both Michael Scudder and Amy J. St. Eve for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.