WASHINGTON – The Senate today failed to overcome a Republican filibuster of the nomination of Judge Robert Wilkins to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Only two Republican senators – Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – voted for cloture on Wilkins’ nomination.

Republicans are also filibustering President Obama’s two other nominees to the court, Nina Pillard and Patricia Millett.

The Senate unanimously confirmed Wilkins to his current post on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2010.

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

“Just three years ago, Senate Republicans found Robert Wilkins perfectly qualified to be a federal judge. Now, they’re filibustering his nomination to the D.C. Circuit simply because they don’t want President Obama to be able to fill that court’s vacancies.

“This is the latest example of Republicans in Congress attempting to circumvent laws they don’t like simply by obstructing the workings of government. They shut down the government in an attempt to nullify the health care law. They routinely filibuster nominees to executive agencies and departments that they don’t want to function. And now they’re going after judicial nominees simply because they don’t like the result of last year’s presidential election.

“This is unacceptable. These nominees are not going away. I hope that when they have a chance to vote again on these three nominations, reasonable Republican senators will follow the lead of Sens. Collins and Murkowski and allow yes-or-no votes.”

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