The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting at 10:00 this morning, at which time the committee believes it will to forward to the floor the nomination of Jane B. Stranch to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit. It might just happen, too, despite the legislative docket this week.
In other news, President Obama yesterday nominated state Judges Albert Diaz and James Wynn to be United States Circuit Judges for the Fourth Circuit. I feel bad for Judge Diaz because he, like Judge Wynn, is from North Carolina but he alone has been nominated to a "South Carolina seat"--he is nominated to replaced South Carolina's retired Judge William Wilkins. As I discussed some time ago, North Carolina is objectively "entitled" to an additional seat at South Carolina's expense (if you believe in such things), but if President Obama was looking to hand South Carolina's two Republican Senators, Lindsey Graham (who's a member of the Judiciary Committee!) and Jim DeMint, a plausibly reasonable excuse to kill a nomination, he performed admirably here. In fact, nominating a North Carolinian to a South Carolina seat is so explosive on its own, it seems utterly futile unless the Administration consulted with Graham and DeMint in advance. That may have happened here, and Judge Diaz may sail through; we'll find out soon.
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