SCOTUS Isn’t The Only Court With A Delayed Vacancy

Think two months of waiting for a new Supreme Court Justice is bad? Ask Wisconsin, where the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has been waiting six years, thanks to the obstructionist behavior of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). Johnson first blocked President Obama’s nominee because he was not consulted on her nomination, and when Victoria Nourse asked to have her nomination withdrawn, Johnson set about creating a new system for picking judicial nominees in the state. When the newly-formed committee was up and running, however, Johnson changed the rules again. Eventually fellow Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) submitted eight potential nominees to the White House, which Johnson finally approved. But even with the process having reached the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, little is being done to fill the seat. “Besides the Supreme Court, there are dozens of district and circuit courts waiting on the Senate to fill vacancies,” Jennifer Bendery writes for The Huffington Post. “Republicans are hoping to punt all confirmations until 2017, when there could be a GOP president who would nominate judges more to their liking.”