The U.S. Senate is set to vote late Monday on the confirmation of three nominees for federal district court — the chamber's first order of business after a week-long recess.
The votes have been scheduled despite the pending nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court. Last year, the Senate did not act on any judicial nominees while Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination was pending, in part because her nomination consumed the time of the senators and staff members who work on judicial nominations.
One of the nominees to be considered today, Lucy Koh, would fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that the United States Judicial Conference classifies as an emergency based on the court’s caseload. Koh is a state trial judge in San Jose, Calif., and a former partner at McDermott, Will & Emery.
The other two set for votes are Audrey Fleissig, a federal magistrate judge, nominated for the Eastern District of Missouri and Jane Magnus-Stinson, a federal magistrate judge, nominated for the Southern District of Indiana. Votes are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.
President Barack Obama trails far behind his predecessor in district court appointments. Sixteen of his nominees have been confirmed, compared to 48 at this point in George W. Bush’s first term.
Check back later for an update.
UPDATE (6:19 p.m.): The Senate confirmed all three nominees without opposition.
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