** UPDATE: THIS ALERT IS NO LONGER ACTIVE **
With each passing day, America's judicial vacancy crisis grows worse.
There are currently 23 nominees awaiting final votes in the Senate. They've had their hearings, the Judiciary Committee has deliberated, and they were approved by the committee -- most without any opposition at all.
Those nominees have put their lives on hold while the Senate drags its feet. Caitlin Halligan has been waiting over 400 days for a vote. Some nominees, like Christopher Droney of Connecticut, have been nominated to seats that are considered "judicial emergencies" -- and Droney's nomination to the Second Circuit has been pending nearly 200 days.
It's time for the Senate to do its job and hold votes on these 23 nominees. Send a message to your Senators and the Senate leaders. Tell them that the obstruction and partisan games must end.
Here are the shocking figures:
- 23 pending nominees
- 21 with very strong bipartisan support
- 19 unopposed in committee
- 8 to fill judicial emergencies
- And if votes were held today, the nominees' average wait time would be 184 days
Knee-jerk obstruction in the Senate and the slow pace of confirmation votes threaten to make the judicial confirmation rate during President Obama's first term lower than for any president in modern history.
Send a message to your senators and to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Harry Reid -- tell them to end the backlog and call for a vote on all pending nominees!
