GOP holds up Senate over judicial nominees

Senate Republicans, angry over the pace of confirming President Bush’s judicial nominees, tied up the floor Wednesday to force Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to schedule more confirmation votes.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) objected on the Senate floor to Reid’s efforts to speed debate on climate change by forcing the clerk to read a 500-page substitute amendment. The move comes after weeks of Republican threats to employ parliamentary tactics to force Democrats to confirm at least 15 appellate court nominees by the end of this Congress.

{mosads}Republicans accuse Reid of breaking a promise to confirm three appeals court judges before Memorial Day. But Reid insists he never made a guarantee, saying he tried to confirm three judges but Republicans effectively stalled one nominee they opposed by burdening her with too many written questions. Democrats say Congress has confirmed a vast majority of Bush’s nominees, and argue that the White House has intentionally floated polarizing nominees to energize the conservative base.

“The Democratic majority has refused to honor its commitments. It apparently believes that commitments do not matter in the United States Senate, and that actions do not have consequences,” McConnell said. “The actions of our Democratic colleagues today are short-sighted. It is important that judicial emergencies are filled with qualified judges, and we will use the various tools at our disposal to ensure that those nominees and the Republican Conference are treated fairly, and that the majority takes its commitments seriously.”

{mosimage}Wednesday’s move angered Democrats, who are trying to lay the groundwork for a major debate on climate change.

“I asked the reading be dispensed with,” bill manager Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said sternly on the floor.

But Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a member of Republican leadership, objected, saying Republicans needed more time to review the bill.