Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Five Judicial Nominations, One Marshal Nomination, Patent Bill To Full Senate
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advanced five judicial nominations and one U.S. Marshal nomination to the full Senate, continuing the Committee’s work to bring balance to the federal judiciary and keep our communities safe.
Under the leadership of Chair Durbin, the Senate has confirmed 221 judges to lifetime appointments on the federal bench during the Biden-Harris administration. Following the markup and confirmation of Sharad Desai to the District of Arizona, sixteen lifetime judges – including four circuit court nominees and twelve district court nominees – are eligible for a vote on the Senate floor.
“The Senate Democratic Majority will march onward to confirm every possible Biden-Harris judicial nominee. The nominations advanced today are now among sixteen judges eligible for a vote on the Senate floor. The judges we’ve confirmed are already making a tremendous impact on the federal judiciary, and they will remain a legacy of Senate Democrats and the Biden-Harris Administration for a generation,” said Durbin of the advanced nominations.
The Committee also advanced the PREVAIL Act, which would support inventors, encourage investments in intellectual property, secure U.S. global technology leadership, and protect economic and national security by aligning the patent review process with the intent of the American Invents Act.
“The PREVAIL Act would align the patent review process with the goals of Congress when it passed the American Invents Act in 2011. We must ensure a level playing field when adjudicating patent validity, which is in the best interest of our inventors and our economy. American innovation must remain at the global forefront, and I’m proud to have partnered with Senators Coons and Tillis to advance this bill to the full Senate,” said Durbin on the patent bill.
The following nominations and bills were reported by the indicated vote totals:
- Anthony J. Brindisi, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York: 11-10
- Elizabeth C. Coombe, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York: 11-10
- Sarah Morgan Davenport, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico: 11-10
- Tiffany Rene Johnson, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia: 11-10
- Keli Marie Neary, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania: 11-10
- Miranda Holloway-Baggett, to be United States Marshal for the Southern District of Alabama: 11-10
- S. 2220, PREVAIL Act (Coons, Tillis, Durbin, Hirono), as amended: 11-10
Additionally, at the top of the hearing, Durbin opened with brief remarks on the blue slip tradition going into the Trump Administration:
“I do want to take a moment to speak about the Committee’s longstanding bipartisan tradition of requiring a blue slip from both home state Senators before considering a district court nominee from that state. Earlier this week, Senator Grassley, our incoming Committee Chair, expressed his intention to maintain blue slips for district court nominees. I was glad to hear this. I faced enormous pressure to do away with the blue slip for the last four years during my tenure as Chair.”
“I am grateful to my Republican colleagues who worked with President Biden to identify qualified nominees for judicial vacancies in their states. Our judiciary is better off thanks to those efforts.”
“On the other hand, some of my Republican colleagues decided to cooperate with the White House and held district court seats open for years. I disagreed with their approach, but I honored their prerogative as home-state Senators. As a result, there were some exceptional nominees that this Committee did not consider. But I feel strongly that we have a responsibility to protect the institutional interests of this body, and our constitutional role of advice and consent.”
“I trust that Chair Grassley, and all of my colleagues, will keep this in mind as we enter the new Congress.”
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