Today, Senators from other states fought for Texas judges while Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison sat on the sidelines. 

Senators Pat Leahy and Richard Blumenthal stood up on the Senate floor today and talked about the need to fill critical judicial vacancies plaguing our country. Nearly 160 million Americans have a federal judicial vacancy where they live while 19 qualified, non-partisan candidates sit stuck in the process, unable to go to work.

Leahy released the following statement on this critical issue that affects all of us. He went on to name every person and district for the Senators who were unable or uninterested in speaking up. We are pleased to emphasize the Texas nominees. 

I urge votes on Jesse Furman for the Southern District of New York, Cathy Bencivengo for the Southern District of California, Gina Groh for the Northern District of West Virginia, Margo Brodie for the Southern District of New York, Adalberto Jordan for the Eleventh Circuit, Beth Phillips for the Western District of Missouri, Thomas Rice for the Eastern District of Washington, David Nuffer for the District of Utah, Stephanie Thacker for the Fourth Circuit, Michael Fitzgerald for the Central District of California, Ronnie Abrams for the Southern District of New York, Rudolph Contreras for the District of Washington DC, Susie Morgan for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Jacqueline Nguyen for the Ninth Circuit, Gregg Costa for the Southern District of Texas, David Guaderrama for the Western District of Texas, and Brian Wimes for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri.

Of the 19 nominees, 16 were passed out of committee with unanimous support. These vacancies affect us all. These courts do not see partisanship. They do hear cases ranging from business claims to ethics to environment to women's health and everything in between. When they sit empty, it means people's lives are harmed because justice is being delayed. And justice delayed is justice denied.

We are proud to be working with a strong coalition of diverse advocates on a campaign to fill these judicial emergencies. Make your voice heard and join Texans for a Fair Judiciary here. 

See the unedited video of Senators Leahy and Blumenthal fight for Texans. The video of Leahy’s speech is available here. The video of Blumenthal’s speech is available here, starting a few seconds into the video.