Cloture Petition Filed on Tenth Circuit Nominee. Really.

Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Reid filed cloture in an attempt to schedule a confirmation vote on a nominee to a federal court of appeals, in an attempt to push back against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s declaration last month that confirmation votes would, especially on court of appeals nominations, grind to a virtual halt because of the elections (the ones that are being held over three months from now, yes). The kicker: the nominee, Robert Bacharach, nominated to an Oklahoma seat on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, has the full support of his Republican home-state senators. And he was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan voice vote. And was rated unanimously well-qualified by the ABA -- unsurprisingly, given his ten years as a federal magistrate judge.

It is virtually unprecedented for a nominee with this level of bipartisan support to require a cloture vote – to, in essence, be filibustered. This Tenth Circuit seat has been vacant for two years. And if Judge Bacharach does not receive a confirmation vote next week, it could be months before another opportunity arises. It’s hard for me to imagine how blocking this vote can be seen as anything but partisan gamesmanship. Unfortunately, it’s a game that all Americans who depend on the courts for justice are losing.