The Senate left for recess last night without confirming a single one of the 23 pending federal judicial nominees. 21 of these nominees have been waiting over five months for Senate votes, some for nearly a year. Seventeen were approved by the Judiciary Committee without opposition. Eleven have been nominated to fill vacancies designated “judicial emergencies.”

Marge Baker, Executive Vice President of People For the American Way, issued the following statement:

“The Senate GOP seems to be bent on obstructionism at all costs. While 41 GOP senators play political games, ordinary Americans are denied the right to efficient justice in our federal courts. Sen. Jim DeMint explained yesterday that he doesn’t believe in ‘this idea that government has to do something.’ This philosophy apparently extends beyond the GOP’s zealous blocking of common sense reforms to even a refusal to perform one of the most basic duties of the US Senate.”

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