Washington, DC – On news this morning that the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Patricia Millett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by a strict party-line vote of 10-8, Constitutional Accountability Center Vice President Judith E. Schaeffer released the following reaction:

“First, we congratulate Pattie Millett on garnering the well-deserved confidence of a majority of the Judiciary Committee today. She is overwhelmingly qualified and totally uncontroversial – even earning praise from Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) during her hearing earlier this month. Millett should not only receive a yes-or-no vote from the full Senate, but she also deserves to be confirmed on a bipartisan basis, as soon as possible after the recess.”

“Having said that, the fact that no Republican on the Committee joined in moving Millett’s nomination forward is deeply disappointing. No Senator, Democrat or Republican, disputes how well qualified Millett is. Today’s vote by Committee Republicans reflects opposition for opposition’s sake. As Senator John McCain has said in coming out against filibustering President Obama’s nominees to the D.C. Circuit, ‘Elections have consequences.’ Yet with all of his GOP colleagues on the Committee united in support of Senator Charles Grassley’s clearly hypocritical and hyper-partisan bill to eliminate the three vacant seats on the D.C. Circuit, the Senate may once again be inching toward nuclear brinksmanship. The full Senate should brush Senator Grassley’s obstructionist ploy aside and give Pattie Millett the yes-or-no vote she deserves.”

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Resources:

CAC letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Patricia Millett, July 17, 2013: http://theusconstitution.org/sites/default/files/briefs/CAC_Letter_to_SJC_in_Support_of_Millett_Confirmation.pdf 

“Why is Senator Grassley Playing Hide-the-Ball Over the D.C. Circuit?” CAC Vice President Judith E. Schaeffer, July 26, 2013: http://theusconstitution.org/text-history/2164/why-senator-grassley-playing-hide-ball-over-dc-circuit 

 “The Next Nuclear Test,” CAC President Doug Kendall, July 25, 2013: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-kendall/the-next-nuclear-test_b_3652286.html 

 “Will other Republican Senators Join McCain and Collins in Rebuffing Grassley’s Partisan Effort to Prevent D.C. Circuit Nominees From Getting a Vote?,” Judith E. Schaeffer, July 8, 2013: http://theusconstitution.org/text-history/2142/will-other-republican-senators-join-john-mccain-and-susan-collins-rebuffing 

“McCain: Obama’s 3 D.C. Circuit Nominees Deserve Votes,” June 18, 2013: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/mccain-obamas-3-dc-circuit-nominees-deserve-votes 

 “Grassley’s ‘court-packing’ analogy goes astray,” Des Moines Register Editorial, June 16, 2013: http://www.indystar.com/article/D2/20130617/OPINION03/306170031/  

“It’s Not Packing, Just Filling the D.C. Bench,” Judith E. Schaeffer, May 24, 2013: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324787004578497511399066342.html   

“Grassley aims for GOP political spin on federal judiciary,” Doug Kendall, May 10, 2013: http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/05/10/grassley-aims-for-gop-political-spin-on-federal-judiciary/  

“Did Senator Grassley Not Check His Inbox? — His Proposal to Gut the D.C. Circuit Ignores the Judicial Conference,” Judith E. Schaeffer, April 17, 2013: http://theusconstitution.org/text-history/1959/did-senator-grassley-not-check-his-inbox-his-proposal-gut-dc-circuit-ignores 

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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