One hundred years ago, in 1916, Justice Louis Brandeis waited 125 days after he was nominated to be confirmed. Due to unprecedented obstruction from Republicans in the U.S. Senate, that record is about to be broken.
Tuesday, July 19, is the 125th day since President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to serve on the Supreme Court. He ties the inglorious record on Tuesday, and breaks it on Wednesday.
You read that right - this week President Obama's SCOTUS nominee officially faces the longest confirmation delay in history.
The American people want a vote on Garland - two-thirds have said they want a hearing for the nominee. But it's important to remember that the U.S. Supreme Court isn't the only court facing vacancies.
Texas' federal courts currently have twelve vacant seats, and Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz are refusing to support nominees they already put forward for some of Texas' vacancies. For others, they refuse to put forward a suggestion (as required) at all.
Here's a look at all the vacancies in Texas' federal courts:
CIRCUIT/DISTRICT | EMERGENCY | DATE OF VACANCY | LENGTH OF VACANCY Since 7/19 | NOMINEE |
5th Circuit Court of Appeals | Yes | 12/31/2013 | 931 | None |
5th Circuit Court of Appeals | Yes | 8/1/2012 | 1448 | None |
Southern District | Yes | 6/1/2011 | 1875 | None |
Southern District | Yes | 5/20/2014 | 791 | None |
Northern District | Yes | 2/3/2016 | 167 | None |
Northern District | Yes | 12/31/2014 | 566 | Frost, E. Scott |
Northern District | Yes | 7/3/2013 | 1112 | Ramirez, Irma Carrillo |
Northern District | Yes | 5/1/2016 | 79 | Hendrix, James Wesley |
Western District | Yes | 2/13/2015 | 522 | Counts III, Walter David |
Eastern District | Yes | 1/7/2016 | 194 | None |
Eastern District | Yes | 5/15/2015 | 431 | None |
Eastern District | Yes | 3/10/2015 | 497 | Scholer, Karen Gren |
Added together, and that's twenty-three years worth of vacant seats in Texas' federal courts.
Enough is enough. #DoYourJob
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