You can add filling 33 federal judgeships to the list of
things the historically terrible
112th Congress failed to accomplish.
President Obama today renominated his picks for the positions, some of whom have been
languishing without confirmation for more than six months, in the hopes that the 113th
Congress will finally get the job done. In a statement, Obama said his nominees have
been left waiting “even though they all enjoy bipartisan support.”
Among the most powerful available jobs are the vacancies on the US Court of Appeals
for the DC Circuit. This is the court where Supreme Court justices John Roberts, Ruth
Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas presided before they joined the
The President’s picks for the open spots are Caitlin Halligan and Sri Srinivasan.
Halligan is the general counsel of the New York County District Attorney’s Office.
She also teaches at Columbia Law and was previously head of the appellate practice
at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
Srinivasan is one of the most highly regarded appellate lawyers in Washington. He
currently serves as the principal deputy solicitor general of the United States. He
was previously a partner at O’Melveny & Myers.