In a Senate judiciary committee hearing last week. Texas Republican John Cornyn leveled a very typical Republican complaint to try to deflect the blame for vacant judicial seats from filibustering Republicans: It's all President Obama's fault for not making nominations. That was a mistake. Here's Sheldon Whitehouse and Patrick Leahy, reminding him how it actually works.
"I don't see why you need additional judges when there have been multiple vacancies that have been left without nominees for years," Whitehouse said. "I have an issue with that."
Cornyn said his answer to that was "simple:" It's Obama's fault.
"The president's got to nominate somebody before the Senate can act on it," Cornyn said. [...]
"Based on 38 years experience here, every judgeship I've seen come through this committee during that time has followed recommendations by the senators from the state," Leahy said. "You have to have recommendations from the senators, especially since I've been chairman, because ... as the senator from Texas knows, if senators have cooperated with the White House and the White House sends somebody they disagree with ... I have not brought the person forward, even when it's been importune to do so by the White House."
According to public records the Alliance for Justice reviewed,
Cornyn hasn't forwarded any names for consideration for the seven vacancies in his state to the Obama administration. One of those vacancies has languished 1,733 days, another for 1,034 days. Cornyn wants to pretend that the Republican boycott of the entire process of advice and consent doesn't exist. Good on Whitehouse and Leahy for reminding him.