Judicial Nomination Prompts Another Bipartisan Senate ‘Gang’ Meeting
By CQ Staff | 9:26 AM; Oct. 23, 2007
By Keith Perine, CQ Staff
Liberal and conservative activists will closely watch a procedural Senate vote this week that could herald a renewed battle over judicial nominees.
Senate leaders plan a vote, probably Wednesday, to limit debate on the nomination of Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Neither supporters nor opponents predict the outcome. At least 60 senators would have to support invoking cloture to proceed to a vote on the nomination itself.
Southwick’s fate could be determined before the cloture vote, however. Moderate Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska has scheduled a bipartisan meeting of senators in his office Tuesday morning to discuss the nomination.
Nelson was the Democratic leader of the Gang of 14 senators who prevented a parliamentary meltdown in May 2005 over Democratic filibusters of appellate nominations. Nelson said he hopes the new group, which includes members of the old one, also will meet in the future to discuss other Senate logjams.
An array of liberal advocacy groups, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus, opposes Southwick. Mississippi Republican Thad Cochran, Southwick’s chief Senate proponent, says his side is trying to make sure all of Southwick’s supporters will be present for the vote.
If Democrats filibuster Southwick’s nomination, they will risk reprisal from Republicans who are already irritated that the Senate is not moving quickly on President Bush’s appellate court nominees. Republicans say the Senate should confirm about 17 such nominations during the 110th Congress to approximate the track record of recent lame-duck, two-term presidents with Senate majorities of the opposite party.
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