Updated at 4:05 p.m.
President Barack Obama renominated 33 individuals for federal judgeships today, chastising Congress for failing to act on the nominations before they expired at the end of 2012.
Obama resubmitted seven nominees to the federal appeals courts, 24 to federal district courts and two to the Court of International Trade. The renominated lawyers included Caitlin Halligan, general counsel with the New York County District Attorney's office, who Obama has unsuccessfully nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit four times since 2010.
"Today, I am re-nominating thirty-three highly qualified candidates for the federal bench, including many who could have and should have been confirmed before the Senate adjourned," Obama said in a statement. "Several have been awaiting a vote for more than six months, even though they all enjoy bipartisan support."
Obama's first term ended with more judicial vacancies than when he took office, according to a report from the Brookings Institution. Democrats have blamed Republicans for refusing to act on nominees, while Republicans have accused Obama of being too slow in choosing them.
Besides Halligan, the renominated individuals to appellate courts are Judge Robert Bacharach to the Tenth Circuit; William Kayatta to the First Circuit; Jill Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit; Judge Patty Schwartz to the Third Circuit; Srikanth Srinivasan to the D.C. Circuit; and Richard Gary Taranto to the Federal Circuit.
The full list of renominated individuals is available here.
Comments