General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Dear Senator Dianne Feinstein: This is not about you. [View all]FBaggins
(26,783 posts)
is any reason to believe that there will be even one fewer judge confirmed due to her temporary absence.
Even a concern about the number of nominees available for floor votes is misguided - because the majority of senate confirmation votes dont come out of the judiciary committee in the first place. If a handful of judges are delayed, the senate can just focus on other confirmable positions to shift available slots to judges later in the year.
The correct number is 18 waiting on the floor of the senate for a vote out of 35 nominated positions... leaving on 17 waiting in committee (many due to "blue slips" that her presence can't help).
IOW - there are only a handful of judicial nominees (10?) who have had committee votes delated due to her absence (some also due to Durbin's absence) - with the longest being about a dozen senate days. Much ado about not very much.
Newsweek has indicated that there were votes on 25 judicial nominees in Feinstein's absence
Those were not judiciary committee votes that caused a nominee to be rejected or held up. They were floor votes and they were confirmed without her presence.