Senate Panel Advances District Court Nominees Stalled for Months

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nominations of two Trump district court nominees from Mississippi whose progress in the chamber was stalled for months by a lone member of the panel.

The committee on Thursday voted, 12-10, to send the nominations of state supreme court justices James Maxwell and Robert Chamberlin to the full Senate for consideration. The vote fell along party lines in the Republican-led committee.

President Donald Trump nominated the pair to the US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi in August. But panel member Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) delayed their vote in committee over an unrelated issue.

Tillis addressed the nominees from the dais, saying the hold-up had nothing to do with their selections.

“They’re outstanding nominees,” he said.

Tillis delayed the judicial nominations and those of two US attorney picks for the state as leverage in his negotiations with Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) over including federal recognition of the Lumbee in the National Defense Authorization Act, a spokesperson for Tillis confirmed.

Wicker is chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. House and Senate lawmakers have been in talks to finalize the massive military policy legislation.

The Senate has expedited judicial nominations in the second Trump administration with many getting votes in the committee soon after their selections. Republicans hold a 12-10 majority on the Judiciary panel that’s advanced most of Trump’s picks with virtually no resistance from its GOP members.

The US attorney picks, James Kruger for the Southern District of Mississippi and Scott Leary for the Northern District, were also advanced Thursday by the Judiciary panel.