Sen. Schumer Ignores The 99 Percent

MYTH: ‘Our Republican Colleagues Had Been Holding Back … Just About All … Lower Court Judges’

CHUCK TODD, NBC News: “Let me say this, let me start with this way. You expressed regret earlier this year for the rules change that was made on judges in 2013. Why did you go along with it if you regret doing it?” SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “Well, let's look at the history. Our Republican colleagues had been holding back on just about all of so many lower court judges, including the very important DC Circuit. I went to Lamar Alexander, one of my dear friends in the Senate, and I said look, if you keep holding back on scores and scores of judges, my side is going to want to change the rules. Go to Mitch and tell him, at least let us have some votes on a few of these, many of whom had gotten bipartisan support. The answer was no. And we changed the rules.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 4/2/2017)

FACT: Prior To November, 2013 ‘The Senate Had Confirmed 215 Of The President [Obama]’s Judicial Nominees And Rejected A Grand Total Of 2. That's A Confirmation Rate Of 99%.’

SEN. MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “…before this current Democrat gambit to 'fill up the D.C. Circuit one way or another,' the Senate had confirmed 215 of the President's judicial nominees and rejected a grand total of 2. That's a confirmation rate of 99%. Clearly, Republicans have been willing to confirm the President's judicial nominees. And on the D.C Circuit, we just confirmed the President's last nominee to that court by a vote of 97 to 0.” (Sen. McConnell, Press Release, 11/21/13)

Those two rejected judicial nominees were:

1. Goodwin Liu, who was rejected on May 19, 2011; and
2. Caitlin Joan Halligan, who was rejected on March 6, 2013

Democrats Triggered The ‘Nuclear Option’ Anyway

“November 21, 2013: Senate Democrats took the dramatic step Thursday of eliminating filibusters for most nominations by presidents, a power play…” (“Reid, Democrats Trigger ‘Nuclear’ Option; Eliminate Most Filibusters On Nominees,” The Washington Post, 11/21/13)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “And our strategy will be to nominate four more people for each of those vacancies … we will fill up the D.C. Circuit, one way or another.” (Sen. Schumer, Remarks, 3/13)

• “Giving liberals a greater say on the D.C. Circuit is important for Obama as he looks for ways to circumvent the Republican-led House and a polarized Senate on a number of policy fronts through executive order and other administrative procedures.” (“Obama Seeks To Shift Conservative Tilt Of Key Court,” Washington Post, 4/2/13)