Free Republic

For the second time in as many weeks, the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate has confirmed a California-based nominee to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit over the objections of the state’s two Democratic senators. The Senate voted 53-46 on Tuesday to approve the nomination of Daniel Collins, a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson in Los Angeles. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris withheld the so-called blue slips for Collins that home-state senators traditionally return to the Senate Judiciary to indicate their sign off on a nominee for a federal judicial seat based...

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed a controversial nominee to the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals over the objections of both home-state senators. Senators voted 52-45 on Kenneth Lee's nomination to the influential appeals court, giving President Trump his 40th circuit judge since taking office. Lee's confirmation came despite neither Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, nor Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a 2020 presidential contender, returning a blue slip on his nomination. The blue-slip rule — a precedent upheld by Senate tradition — has historically allowed a home-state senator to stop a lower-court nominee...