by Audrey Conklin
The Senate confirmed 13 judges President Donald Trump chose while America had its eyes on the Democratic primary debates Tuesday and Wednesday.
Though Senate Republicans had initially planned to confirm 19 Trump judges before leaving Washington, D.C., for August recess, they successfully confirmed four nominees Tuesday and nine Wednesday.
Speaking of the judiciary:
Two nights of debates, zero questions about the Supreme Court.
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) August 1, 2019
“For too long, fairly uncontroversial judicial nominees just like these have been held up and delayed by our Democratic colleagues even when the vacancy qualifies as a judicial emergency,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said during a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, The Hill reported.
“Uncontroversial district judges used to be confirmed promptly in big groups by voice vote,” he continued.
Confirmations include the following district court nominees:
Karin Immergut for the District of Oregon, John Milton Younge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Mary M. Rowland for the Northern District of Illinois, Mark Pittman to the Northern District of Texas, Jeffrey Brown to the Southern District of Texas, Brantley Starr to the Northern District of Texas, Martha Pacold to the Northern District of Illinois, Jason Pulliam to the Western District of Texas, William Stickman IV to be the Western District of Pennsylvania, Michael T. Liburdi for the District of Arizona, Peter D. Welte for the District of North Dakota, James Wesley Hendrix for the Northern District of Texas and Sean D. Jordan for the Eastern District of Texas.
Republicans have confirmed more than 100 Trump court picks since 2017, including Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, as well as a record number of appeals court judges.
Trump accused Democrats of obstructing his nominees earlier in 2019.
“Democrats in the Senate are still slow walking hundreds of highly qualified people wanting to come into government,” the president said in a February tweet. “Never been such an abuse in our country’s history.”
Sections of the 2019 book “Justice on Trial” by Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino reveal how 2016 Trump campaign lawyers consulted with retired Justice Anthony Kennedy in an effort to build a list of prospective Supreme Court nominees ahead of Trump’s election.
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Audrey Conklin is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
