Congressional Black Caucus Chair Marcia Fudge seeks end of Senate tactic to halt judicial nominees
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Marcia Fudge seeks end of Senate tactic to halt judicial nominees
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Members of the Congressional Black Caucus led by Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge say that Republicans are abusing a U.S. Senate tradition to obstruct confirmation of President Barack Obama's African-American judicial nominees.
So Fudge will ask the Senate Judiciary Committee to process nominations without approval from both U.S. Senators in the nominee's home state.
After the U.S. Senate acted last year to cut back on "filibusters" that let minority party members block Senate consideration of nominees they disapproved of by requiring votes to proceed from 60 of the Senate's 100 members, Democrats say
GOP Senators shifted to using the "blue slip" process to derail Obama's judicial nominees.
Fudge and other members of the Black Caucus say GOP Senators including Marco Rubio of Florida and Richard Burr of North Carolina used the "blue slip" procedure to block the nominations of qualified African-Americans they previously endorsed for judgeships.
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Full article here:
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/01/congressional_black_caucus_cha_2.html