Patrick Leahy: “Today, we vote to confirm Judge Consuelo Maria Callahan to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth…”

“Today, we vote to confirm Judge Consuelo Maria Callahan to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This is another judicial nominee of President Bush whom Senate Democrats have strongly supported and whose consideration we had expedited through the Judiciary Committee. I thank the Democratic leader and assistant leader for supporting Judge Callahan's nomination and working out this arrangement with the Republican leadership so that this consensus nomination can be considered without further delay. I appreciate that the majority leader has been willing to work with us to allow this nomination to go forward today. I still do not know who on the Republican side delayed consideration of this consensus nominee. Just as Senate Democrats last month cleared the nomination of Judge Edward Prado to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit without delay, so, too, the nomination of Judge Callahan to the Ninth Circuit was cleared on the Democratic side promptly. All Democratic Senators serving on the Judiciary Committee voted to report her nomination favorably. All Democratic Senators indicated that they were eager to proceed with her nomination and, after a reasonable period of debate, vote on her nomination. Unlike the divisive nomination of Carolyn Kuhl to the same court, both home-State Senators support the nomination of Judge Callahan and she is expected to be confirmed by an extraordinary majority--maybe unanimously.”