Orrin Hatch: “this Congress has taken steps to significantly reduce the Federal judicial vacancy rate to its lowest level in almost a…”

“this Congress has taken steps to significantly reduce the Federal judicial vacancy rate to its lowest level in almost a decade. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I am proud to boast about some of the successes that have been achieved this Congress by the Committee and Republican Senate. I also feel compelled to set the record straight that the Committee and Republican Senate this Congress have been dedicated and productive. One could speculate that if the Democrats controlled the Senate, more Clinton nominees would have been confirmed. But then again, maybe not. This Congress, the Committee held hearings for 111 out of 127 judicial nominees. Of the 16 nominees that did not have hearings, 3 withdrew from consideration. The Committee held 23 judicial, and an additional 8 non-judicial, nominations hearings for a total of 31 nominations hearings. In all, this Congress the Republican Senate confirmed 101 judicial nominees, which is well above the average confirmed over the last five Congresses, which is 96. Indeed, notwithstanding the rhetoric we often heard from the other side of the aisle, according to the Alliance for Justice, a liberal judicial watch group, almost 50% of the judges confirmed by the Republican Senate have been women and/or members of a minority group.”