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Oldest Appellate Vacancy Filled Over Objections of Senator

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“Milwaukee lawyer Michael Brennan was confirmed for a key federal judgeship, filling the oldest appellate vacancy in the country but deepening a partisan schism in the U.S. Senate over judges,” the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.

“He was confirmed 49-46 with only Republican votes, over the objections of Democrat Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin’s junior senator.”

“That has typically been enough to sink a nomination in recent years, because senators from both parties have enjoyed an effective veto over the selection of federal judges from their home states, a tradition known as the ‘blue slip.'”

“Baldwin’s GOP colleague from Wisconsin, Ron Johnson, used his blue slip power to block one of Democratic President Barack Obama’s nominees for the same 7th Circuit seat that his party filled Thursday.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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