GOP attacks Obama nominee Caitlin Halligan ahead of Senate vote

“Ms. Halligan has time and again sought to push her own views over and above those of the courts or those of the people, as reflected in the law,” he said, rattling off a list of areas where he said she had overstepped the boundary for an impartial jurist.

McConnell suggested Halligan had blatantly attempted to overturn existing law in various policy matters including abortion rights, domestic working rights for illegal immigrants and — most troublesome for Washington, D.C, he said — limiting the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called McConnell’s list “isolated examples of cases she may have argued,” suggesting that the minority leader was intentionally quoting Halligan as speaking for herself when she was in fact speaking on behalf of a clients.

“It’s mystifying to me that Republicans would try to filibuster her nomination,” said Durbin.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) also warned on Tuesday that if Republicans denied Halligan an up-or-down vote on her confirmation, they would set a dangerous precedent for years to come and further poison interparty relations.

“It could risk throwing the Senate into chaos on judicial nominees,” said Schumer. “Senate Republicans seem to want to declare open season for filibusters of judges again.”

—This story was updated at 2 p.m.