Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)–the third ranking Democrat in the Senate–says it’s high time Republicans let all of President Obama’s judicial nominees come to the floor for up-or-down votes. And if they use Obama’s forthcoming nomination of a replacement for Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens as an excuse to further delay lower court nominees, they should be prepared to work longer hours.
“We are going to stay in as long as it takes, even if it means nights, weekends, to get these nominees through,” Schumer said at a press conference this morning. “Because it’s just unpardonable, unexplainable, only the worst of motivations that’s holding these judges up.”
A leadership aide tells me that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been prepping a confirmation schedule for several Obama nominees, hoping to advance them after the Senate passes an extension of unemployment benefits–but had no additional information regarding any plans to hold the Senate in session to force the GOP’s hand.
