Oldest Appellate Vacancy Filled Over Objections of Senator

“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.”