On the recordFebruary 25, 2014
the next nominee, James Donato of California, was originally nominated in June of 2013. He was voted out of the Judiciary Committee unanimously. I have heard from my friends on the Republican side that we should be concerned about emergency vacancies. This is an emergency vacancy. He was reported out unanimously for the first time last October. He had to be reported out a second time this year--again, unanimously. He has the strong support of the two Senators from California. So holding up and having a filibuster and going through all of that on this nomination is the kind of game playing that hurts the Federal judiciary. It is almost like the efforts made by our friends on the other side in closing down the government last year, and this is just a slow way to close down the Federal judiciary. I urge immediate consideration and confirmation. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
