As mentioned below, Senator Paul took to the Senate floor this week to mount and old fashioned filibuster against the nomination of John Brennan to head the CIA. This article notes that - without much fanfare - a newfangled filibuster defeated the nomination of an Obama appointee to the federal courts - specifically the very important DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
As we've discussed in class, what is now considered a filibuster is the inability of of supporters of a bill or nomination to amass 60 votes to guarantee a floor vote. This explains the increase in filibusters recently.
The use of the filibuster against the judicial nominee explains the large number of vacancies in the federal judiciary. During the Obama Administration, the wait for judicial nominations has increased substantively.
Links:
- Would-Be Federal Judges Face The Washington Waiting Game.
- Vacancies, backlogs plague federal judiciary.
- DOJ: Judicial Nominations.
- Judicial Nominations.
