The nominee for a top policy position at the U.S. Department of Justice shored up some Republican support today, as the Senate Judiciary Committee forwarded his nomination to the full Senate with a bipartisan endorsement.
Duke University law professor Christopher Schroeder was first nominated to head the Office of Legal Policy in May 2009. Republicans have held up his nomination since, despite a voice vote supporting him in the Judiciary Committee in July. They’ve expressed concern about his views on judicial nominees — appointments that the Office of Legal Policy helps vet.
Two key Republicans spoke in favor of Schroeder’s nomination today.
“The nominee is smart and capable,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the committee’s top Republican. Sessions added that Schroeder “is a very strong partisan. He’s got to be careful about that,” but Sessions said he is supporting Schroeder anyway because the policy position “has some political component to it.”
Schroeder was the Democrats’ chief counsel on the Judiciary Committee two decades ago, an experience that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) cited in explaining his support for Schroeder. “When people serve on this committee as staff, they should get the benefit of the doubt,” said Hatch, a former chairman of the committee. “I like him personally. He was always courteous to me.”
The committee voted 16-3 in favor of Schroeder’s nomination. Among those opposing him is Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who pressed Schroeder last year on whether he supports President Barack Obama’s position that empathy is an important quality in judges. Schroeder wrote in reply (PDF) that empathy is one of several qualities that should play a role in a judge’s consideration of a case.
Three other disputed Obama nominees didn’t fare as well today, winning the Judiciary Committee’s backing on party-line votes of 12-7. They are: Chicago litigator Mary Smith to head the Justice Department’s Tax Division; former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Louis Butler Jr. for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin; and U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward Chen for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. All three were before the committee for the second time, and they face dim prospects in the Senate unless they pick up some GOP support.
A committee vote for Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen, nominated to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, was delayed at least a week because the committee ran out of time.
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