The Senate has taken the rare step of confirming the nomination of a Wisconsin attorney to serve as a federal judge despite the objections of one of his home-state senators.
The Senate voted 49-46 to confirm Milwaukee attorney Michael Brennan to fill an opening on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Senate tradition gives lawmakers a chance to weigh in on a judicial nominee from their home state by submitting a form called the “blue slip.”
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Democrats objected because Republicans overrode Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s decision to withhold her blue slip.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, says the GOP’s decision to move forward with Brennan’s confirmation without two positive blue slips “erodes one of the few remaining customs in the Senate that forces consultation and consensus on judicial nominations.”
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