After months of delays, the Senate Judiciary Committee today approved the nominations of seven federal court nominees, including Goodwin Liu for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Liu

The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved the nominations of seven federal court nominees, including Goodwin Liu for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Liu and three other nominees have now been approved by the Judiciary Committee multiple times. The Senate GOP refused to vote on their nominations, requiring the nomination process to start from scratch this month.

Marge Baker, Executive Vice President of People For the American Way, said:

“Congratulations to the nominees approved by the Judiciary Committee today. It’s unfortunate that these nominees have been forced to go through such a gauntlet simply to serve their country. Senate Republicans have made a sport out of delaying the confirmation of perfectly qualified judicial nominees, trying to score political points at the expense of maintaining a well functioning judicial system.

“The GOP obstruction of President Obama’s nominees is unprecedented, and the American judicial system is hurting because of it. It’s time for Senate Republicans to take the responsibilities of governing seriously, and agree to vote on each one of these stalled nominations.  There are now 23 nominations pending on the Senate calendar, 11 of which are to fill vacancies declared as judicial emergencies by the Administrative Office of the Courts. It’s time for this nonsense to stop.”

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