Tammy Baldwin, Ron Johnson spar over judicial candidates
Wisconsin senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin. Credit: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Craig Gilbert of the Journal Sentinel
Washington — The brief partnership forged by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson to fill federal judicial seats in Wisconsin appears to have broken down over the nation's oldest vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Citing a yearslong impasse in filling the seat, Baldwin on Friday sent to the White House the names of eight candidates for the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago — a seat that was last held by the late Terence Evans and has been vacant since 2010.
Johnson immediately protested, saying the move was a "partisan" break with a nominating process he and Baldwin had agreed to follow.
In a brief letter to President Barack Obama, Baldwin said the federal nominating commission she and Johnson established had failed to agree on a full slate of candidates to recommend, so she was forwarding the names of the leading applicants interviewed by the commission.
Baldwin's chief of staff Bill Murat said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
"This appellate court vacancy is now 1,947 days old and Senator Baldwin believes it is important that action be taken to put a judge in place to serve. That is why she has sent to the White House eight well-qualified and experienced finalists from the bipartisan commission."
8 names released
The eight applicants forwarded by Baldwin to the White House are: Timothy Burns, David Jones, Anne Kearney, Beth Kushner, David Lucey, Richard Sankovitz, Donald Schott and Dean Strang.
They were the candidates selected for interviews by the commission. But because of a lack of consensus, the commission — made up of three Baldwin appointees and three Johnson appointees — had not forwarded a full slate of finalists to the two senators.
The commission's rules set a high bar: Four to six finalists must be selected, and each one must have the support of five of six commission members. Only two received the requisite five votes. The lack of progress prompted claims from some Democrats that Republicans were happy to see the process stalled.
But Johnson accused Baldwin in a statement Friday night of ignoring the commission's rules and going down a "strikingly partisan path" that he said would reduce the chances of filling the vacancy.
He also released a letter from his three appointees to the commission protesting the move and proposing that just two unnamed applicants — the only ones to receive five votes — be forwarded for consideration.
Friday's development is the latest chapter in a long stalemate over the politically sensitive federal appeals court seat.
Obama first nominated University of Wisconsin law professor Victoria Nourse for the 7th Circuit nearly five years ago, before Johnson's 2010 election to the Senate.
But when Johnson took office, he used his traditional prerogative as a home-state senator to prevent a confirmation hearing. He opposed Nourse's nomination and argued that it had effectively expired when a new Senate convened in 2011.
Johnson pushed for changes
Johnson also pressed for changes in the state's nominating commission, long used by Wisconsin's senators to recommend federal judicial candidates to the president.
Under the old system, a senator from the president's party got more appointees to the commission than a senator from the "out" party.
Johnson demanded an equal number of appointees. Senate Democrat Herb Kohl balked at that change, but after Baldwin succeeded Kohl in the Senate in 2013, she agreed to it.
The restructured commission led to the filling of two federal judgeships, one in the Western District of Wisconsin and one in the Eastern District. But the high-stakes Court of Appeals opening proved more difficult. It is now up to the White House to choose a nominee from the names Baldwin forwarded and to send that nomination to the Senate.
But it is highly unlikely the GOP-controlled Senate would act on such a nominee over Johnson's objections.
About Craig Gilbert
Craig Gilbert is the Journal Sentinel's Washington Bureau Chief and writes the Wisconsin Voter blog about politics and elections.
@WisVoter
cgilbert@journalsentinel.com
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