Senate Confirms Two District Court Nominees

On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed John Andrew Ross to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri by unanimous consent and Timothy M. Cain to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina by a vote of 99-0. The vacancies they will fill have been designated judicial emergencies by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Despite the emergency status of the seats and the unanimous affirmation of the nominees by the Senate, it has taken 294 days from the date of his nomination to last night’s vote for Ross to be confirmed, and 217 days for Cain.

The Senate took no action on 27 other judicial nominees currently pending on the Senate floor, 26 of whom were reported out of committee either unanimously or with strong bipartisan support. There are now 112 current and future vacancies in the federal judiciary—1 in 7 judgeships—only 2 fewer than there were at the beginning of the current Congress.