The Senate Just Cemented Obama's Judicial Legacy

The Senate Just Cemented Obama's Judicial Legacy
Posted: 12/17/2014 12:28 am EST Updated: 12/17/2014 11:59 am EST


WASHINGTON -- If there's one thing from 2014 that will define President Barack Obama's legacy after he's left the White House, it's the number of lifetime judges he put on the federal bench.

In its final act of the year, the Senate blew through a dozen U.S. district court nominees on Tuesday night. That puts Obama at a whopping 89 district court and circuit court confirmations for the year, and means he'll wrap up his sixth year in office with a grand total of 305 district court and circuit court confirmations -- a tally that puts him well beyond where his predecessors were by this point in their presidencies.

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Senate filibuster reform played a major role in Obama's spike in judicial confirmations this year. Democrats changed the rules last year to require a simple majority, or 51 votes, instead of 60 votes to advance most judicial nominees. They made the change in response to Republicans abusing the filibuster rule to block several of Obama's nominees -- even noncontroversial picks.

The result is that Democrats have had a much easier time getting approval for the president's picks. The numbers speak for themselves. Prior to filibuster reform, Obama got 45 judges confirmed in 2013 and 49 judges confirmed in 2012. He's nearly doubled those numbers in the last year.

"These confirmations mean that, for Americans across the country, justice will no longer be delayed," said Michelle Schwartz of Alliance For Justice. "They also mean that taxpayer money will be saved by avoiding needlessly duplicative paperwork and hearings if these nominees had to be re-nominated next year. We commend Senator Reid for his dedication to confirming these judges before the end of the year."



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