CAC Prez Has Solution to Judicial Nomination Holdups: Recess Appointments
The president of a liberal advocacy group has a solution to President Obama’s stalled judicial nominations: recess appointments.
In an article in Slate magazine, Doug Kendall criticizes Senate Republicans for the holdup, saying they have “managed to invent controversy even about nominees who were expected to sail through.”
Kendall, the president and founder of the Constitutional Accountability Center, writes that President Obama’s nominees are on the whole older and more centrist than his progressive supporters would like, but the GOP has still dragged its feet. As a result, nearly one in eight judgeships are open, resulting in declarations of 49 judicial emergencies.
“If the Senate continues to block his nominees in mass, he should consider making recess appointments to fill vacancies in at least some seats that have been declared judicial emergencies,” Kendall says. He make the suggestions as part of a “Plan B” for the president.
Under the Constitution, the appointments would expire at the end of the next session of Congress, which can be from one to two years from the time of the appointment, Kendall says. “Republicans would squawk and threaten to block permanent Senate confirmation for the recess appointees. But on this one, the administration would almost certainly have public support,” he says.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “ABA President to Senate: Confirm 16 Judges Now”
ABAJournal.com: “AG: Delayed Votes on Federal Judge Nominees Is Creating ‘Crisis in Our Courts’ ”
