“Barely a week after the President promised to change course by working in a bipartisan and cooperative way with Congress, it is disappointing that he has decided to ‘stay the course’ on judicial nominees by renominating a slate of his most controversial past choices.  These are nominees who failed to win confirmation under a Republican-controlled Senate and they were returned to the President.   

“With these renominations, the President is choosing partisanship over progress and division over unity, at the expense of a fair and independent judiciary.  This is exactly the kind of political game-playing that prompted Americans to demand change and a new direction in Washington.  The signal the President is sending by renominating these controversial candidates is regrettable.  But I hope the President will work with us in charting a new direction in the next congressional session, by choosing consensus nominees who unite instead of divide America.    

“The American people expect the federal courts to be a place where justice is dispensed without favor to the right or the left.  These are the only lifetime appointments in our entire government, and I will continue to work with both Democratic and Republican Senators to advance consensus nominees to ensure the independence of our federal judiciary.”

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