Senate Judiciary Committee

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Holder on 9/11 Trial: 'We Need Not Cower'

AG defends decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York

(Newser) - Republicans grilled Eric Holder on Capitol Hill today, criticizing his decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in civilian court. But Holder offered a forceful rebuttal, saying, “We need not cower in the face of this enemy. Our institutions are strong and our people are ready.” He added that...

GOP Looks Tacky in Vote on Sotomayor

(Newser) - Senate Republicans locked arms against Sonia Sotomayor yesterday … or would have, if they’d bothered to stay for the Judiciary Committee’s vote. Instead, half ducked out, leaving Jeff Sessions to repeat “No by proxy,” over and over, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. It was...

Judiciary Committee Approves Sotomayor

(Newser) - The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to approve Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court. The committee voted 13-6 this morning to send Sotomayor's nomination to the full Senate, where she's expected to be confirmed easily next week. Just one Republican, South Carolina's Lindsey Graham,...

Hatch, Cornyn Get on GOP's Anti-Sotomayor Bandwagon

(Newser) - In an indication that conservative Republicans are uniting against Sonia Sotomayor, Senate Judiciary Committee members John Cornyn and Orrin Hatch today pledged to vote against her, CNN reports. Though moderate Republicans worry opposition could hurt the party with Hispanics, the conservative base has lobbied hard against the Supreme Court nominee....

Graham Blasts GOP's 'Blind Ideology'
Graham Blasts GOP's 'Blind Ideology'
Interview
Jul 24, 2009 9:33 AM CDT

Graham Blasts GOP's 'Blind Ideology'

Republican embraces bipartisanship on Sotomayor nomination

(Newser) - Lindsey Graham’s been on the Republican hot seat since throwing his support behind Sonia Sotomayor, but he doesn’t think much of the purity police attacking him. “I have no desire to be up here in an irrelevant status,” the senior senator from South Carolina tells Politico....

Blame Everyone Involved for Shallow Sotomayor Hearings

Dems go lightly; GOP eyes history outside of court

(Newser) - With Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation a virtual certainty and her appointment unlikely to change the direction of the Supreme Court, last week's toothless hearings held few surprises. Except, that is, for observers who were hoping the Senate Judiciary Committee would press for substantive Q-and-A, Joan Biskupic writes for USA Today. “...

GOP Foresees August Vote on Sotomayor

(Newser) - Republicans cleared the way today for a Senate vote next month to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, placing her firmly in line to become the first Hispanic justice. "I look forward to you getting that vote before we recess in August," said Jeff Sessions, the senior Republican...

Hey GOP: 'White Male' Is an Identity, Too

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation is in the bag, but this week's hearings have a real value, writes Eugene Robinson: They are exposing the Republican Party's "refusal to accept the basic principle of diversity." For the Washington Post columnist, the anger surrounding the judge's "wise Latina" remark rests...

Sen. Franken Debuts in Sotomayor Hearings

(Newser) - The voice was Stuart Smalley, but the occasion was no joke, and Sen. Al Franken, on his fifth day in office, was sober and respectful as he made his public debut during Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings today. Franken said deferentially that he had much to learn from his colleagues, and...

Six Things to Watch at Sotomayor Hearings
 Six Things to Watch 
 at Sotomayor Hearings 
ANALYSIS
Jul 13, 2009 8:21 AM CDT

Six Things to Watch at Sotomayor Hearings

(Newser) - The White House is working hard to ensure an easy confirmation for Sonia Sotomayor, with John Roberts' perfect-10 testimony as a model. Will she sail through? Politico lists six things to watch.
  1. That 'wise Latina' remark. Republicans are obsessed with it, and she needs to explain it without sounding phony.
...

GOP to Target Sotomayor With Gun Questions

Ruling in favor of gun control laws could rankle red state Dems

(Newser) - Republicans, who've failed to get traction in opposing Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court, finally think they have an issue that might stick: gun control. When the high court struck down Washington’s tough gun control laws as unconstitutional, many wondered if the ruling applied to state laws as...

Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings Start July 13

Senate judiciary chair: it's a 'reasonable schedule'

(Newser) - Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor will convene on July 13, says the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman. Patrick Leahy said the date represents a "reasonable schedule" that would give committee members several more weeks to prepare. President Obama has urged the Senate to vote before it leaves...

Sotomayor Visits Senators, Explains 'Wise Latina' Remark

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor made her first trip to Capitol Hill today, and had heart-to-hearts with Harry Reid and assorted members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, explaining the “wise Latina” remark that has drawn so much attention to chairman Patrick Leahy, Politico reports. Though everyone has a different background, the Supreme...

Obama Loses 'Empathy' Line After GOP Sullies Phrase

(Newser) - “Empathy” was a key part of President Obama’s vocabulary when he first started talking about his Supreme Court nominee, Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times, but the word has disappeared. “Conservatives have hijacked empathy and turned it into an epithet,” Stolberg writes. When...

Sotomayor Vote Carries Risks for These Senators
Sotomayor Vote Carries Risks for These Senators
Analysis
May 28, 2009 9:02 AM CDT

Sotomayor Vote Carries Risks for These Senators

Judiciary committee members share spotlight with nominee

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation looks likely, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some drama between here and there. Politico runs down which senators have the most to win—and the most to lose:  
  • Patrick Leahy: Facing his first nominee as judiciary chairman, Leahy’s eager to
...

After Seniority Flap, Specter Lands Plum Gig

Durbin engineers Judiciary shuffle, giving newest Dem a gavel

(Newser) - Dick Durbin has yielded his seat atop the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime and drugs to Arlen Specter, a consolation prize after Democrats stripped their new colleague of his seniority, Politico reports. In exchange, Durbin will take the helm of a newly reconstituted human-rights subcommittee. The move should help...

For Sessions, Confirmation Hearings May Feel Familiar

Specter's far right replacement once rejected by same committee

(Newser) - Even if Al Franken is seated, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee isn't guaranteed an easy confirmation process. The reason is Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican who inherited Arlen Specter's seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The fiery Sessions knows the committee well: It blocked his bid to become a federal...

Dems Stoked Over GOP's Judiciary Pick

Accusations of racial insensitivity continue to dog Sessions

(Newser) - Democrats are hoping Arlen Specter’s replacement on the Senate Judiciary Committee, a white Southerner with a history of racial provocation, will help paint the Republican image into a corner, Politico reports. As the GOP’s chief questioner of President Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee, Jeff Sessions will “...

Coleman Gaffe Costs Specter Seniority on Senate Panels

Dems disappoint defector with junior slots after he speaks up for Coleman

(Newser) - Party-switcher Arlen Specter's comment that Republican Norm Coleman should be Minnesota's senator cost him seniority on Senate panels yesterday, a source told Politico. His gaffe was the final straw for Senate Dems already angry about the prospect of being bumped from senior positions by the 29-year senator. A resolution last...

How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played
How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played
Analysis
May 5, 2009 12:20 PM CDT

How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played

Prepare for a spectacle as the 3 branches, special interests collide

(Newser) - The process of replacing David Souter has begun in earnest, so get ready for “Washington at its best (or worst, depending on your perspective),” writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. All three branches of government, and a boatload of special interests and egos, will brawl it out...

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