Thursday, June 09, 2005

6:00 Confirmation of 6th Circuit Nominees The Senate voted to confirm both the Griffin and McKeague nominations by votes of 95-0 and 96-0 respectively.  There will be no more votes this evening.  Tomorrow the Senate will be in session but no votes are expected tomorrow.  The next vote is expected to occur on Tuesday, June 14th, on Thomas B. Griffith, of Utah, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the D.C. Circuit.  6:04:48 PM

4:53 Confirmation of Pryor Nomination and Votes on 6th Circuit Nominees The Senate voted 53-45 to confirm Mr. Pryor to the 11th Circuit.  The Senate now is turning to the nominations of Richard Griffin and David McKeague, both of whom are from Michigan, to be Judges for the 6th Circuit.  Senator Levin is speaking about two nominees to the 6th Circuit that were nominated by President Clinton.  He explained how these nominees were prevented from having votes on the Senate floor because Senator Hatch would not allow the nominations to move forward.  Senator Levin noted that when the Judiciary Committee considered the Griffin and Mckeague nominations, that they moved forward because they had the support of the two Senators from Michigan.  His point was to contrast that this was case with the two Clinton nominees, but their nominations did not move forward. Votes on these nominees are expected to occur shortly. 4:58:51 PM

3:50 Senator Leahy on the Pryor Nomination Senator Leahy spoke on the floor this afternoon, making note of a long list of items the Senate could be working on, instead of considering a handful of controversial nominations.  He said that debating unemployment, gas prices, stem cell research, and increasing support for police officers are all issues that would all be more in the best interest of the American people than discussing these nominations.  Senator Leahy continued to explain why he believes Mr. Pryor is unqualified to be a confirmed to a lifetime appointment on the bench and made an appeal to his colleagues to vote against the nomination.  3:50:53 PM

1:40 Debate on Pryor Nomination Continues Despite the controversy over his nomination, debate on the floor throughout the morning and early afternoon on William Pryor has been relatively restrained.  Both senators from Alabama, Mr. Pryor's home state, have spoken on the floor in support of his nomination.  Senator Sessions, the junior senator from Alabama, has been an outspoken advocate on behalf of Mr. Pryor and has spoken multiple times today to praise Mr. Pryor's record and qualifications.  Senator Durbin, one of only a few senators who have spoken in opposition to the nomination, took roughly 30 minutes to lay out a case against Mr. Pryor.  The senator detailed a number of reasons why he believes Mr. Pryor is out of the main stream, citing a one situation where Mr. Pryor filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court arguing that a man who was the subject of a domestic violence restraining order should be allowed to possess a firearm.  As the Senate moves closer to a final vote at 4:00, floor speeches are likely to be more impassioned and exercised.  1:45:18 PM

9:54 Consideration of the Pryor Nomination Today the Senate is debating the nomination of William Pryor to be a Judge for the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.  The President appointed Mr. Pryor to the 11th Circuit during a Senate recess in February of last year, and unless he is confirmed by the Senate, his service on this court will come to a close at the end of the year.  William Pryor is the third controversial nominee to be considered by the Senate in the aftermath of an agreement reached by a group of 14 senators that helped prevent a Senate rule change.  Today's schedule will see time allotted to each party in 30 minute blocks, alternating between the majority and minority until a final confirmation vote is held at 4:00 P.M. 9:55:08 AM