In the days following White House Counsel Robert Bauer's announcement Tuesday at an ACS National Press Club event that the administration will aggressively push forward judicial nominations, both the Senate and President Obama have taken actions toward that end.
Today, the full Senate scheduled votes on three nominees for Monday. According to the Senate Democrats' schedule, the Senate plans to confirm by unanimous consent Marco Hernandez for the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, and has scheduled debate and votes for Monday on Paul Holmes for the Western District of Arkansas, and Diana Saldaña for the Southern District of Texas.
Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved 11 nominees by voice vote, clearing the way for consideration of these nominees by the full Senate.
And Wednesday, President Obama "took a tougher line with Republican senators who object to his choice of federal judges," announcing the nomination of a judge in Oklahoma over the objection of the state's two senators, an "apparent first for Obama," The Blog of Legal Times reports.
The nominee, Arvo Mikkanen, who would sit on the Western District of Oklahoma if confirmed, would be the only American Indian serving as a federal judge, and the third in U.S. history, according to The BLT.
During his remarks Tuesday, Bauer addressed the issue of senators' objections to Obama nominations, saying: