WASHINGTON -– Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) on Thursday lauded the Senate for clearing up a backlog of nominations and confirming five U.S. Attorneys and five U.S. Marshals. He said some of the nominations had been pending before the Senate for more than a month.
“I am grateful that Senate Republicans have released the holds that have prevented the confirmation of these 10 law enforcement nominations,” Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. “I spoke about them, again, this morning. I thank Senator Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, for helping to clear these nominations at this time.”
“I hope this marks the end of Republican obstruction that has forced procedural motions to end filibusters when there is no opposition, and that they will not continue to make extensive demands for extended debate time when there is no debate,” he said. “We need to get to issues that concern the American people, including Wall Street reform and patent reform. ”
The U.S. Attorney nominations confirmed Thursday afternoon include: William N. Nettles for the District of South Carolina; Wilfredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida; David A. Capp for the Northern District of Indiana; Anne M. Tompkins for the Western District of North Carolina and Loretta E. Lynch for the Eastern District of New York.
The nominations for U.S. Marshals included: Kelly M. Nesbit for the Western District of North Carolina; Peter C. Munoz for the Western District of Michigan; Noel C. March for the District of Maine; George White for the Southern District of Mississippi; and Brian T. Underwood for the District of Idaho.
