Senate

Senate confirms ninth judicial nomination

by Jordain Carney - 10/26/15 6:16 PM ET

The Senate on Monday confirmed its ninth judicial nominee so far this year.

Senators voted 88-0 on Lawrence Vilardo’s nomination to be a district judge for the Western District of New York.

{mosads}The New York judge’s nomination was previously blocked by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, when Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) repeatedly tried to get unanimous consent earlier this year for three nominations, including Vilardo.

Democrats, including Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), have blasted Republicans over the pace of judicial nominations since January.

While Monday’s vote is the ninth this year on a judicial nomination, Senate Democrats in 2007 had voted on more than 30 judicial nominations by the same point.

Grassley, earlier this year, argued that Republicans would have voted on more nominations since January, if Senate Democrats hadn’t confirmed nominations at the end of last year.

“Had we not confirmed those 11 judicial nominees during the lame duck last year, we’d be roughly at the same place we were for judicial confirmations this year, compared to 2007,” the Iowa Republican said at the time.

Schumer praised Vilardo on his nomination ahead of the vote.

“When he was nominated I heard the voices chant ‘Vilardo, Vilardo, Vilardo.’ Not just the legal community but the whole community,” he said. “The people of the Western District are incredibly lucky to have Larry Vilardo on the bench.”

Tags Chuck Grassley Chuck Schumer Harry Reid