The Senate today blocked the nomination of Patricia Millett for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, throwing doubt on the ability of President Obama to fill three vacancies on the key court. Millett's qualifications to serve on the bench were never an issue between Democrats and Republicans. Millett, an Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld partner, has argued 32 times before the U.S. Supreme Court. She was the first of Obama's three nominees to the court. Republicans argued the D.C. Circuit does not need any more judges, and accused Obama of trying to stack the D.C. Circuit—the 11-member court has three vacancies—to win more favorable rulings on federal agency administrative actions. Millett's nomination needed 60 votes to overcome a Republican block and advance in the Senate. The 55-38 vote, with three senators responding present, meant that she could not get an up-or-down confirmation vote. The move today could reignite a Senate debate over changing the rules about filibusters. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) today repeated his position—before the vote—that blocking Millett could cause Democrats to use the so-called "nuclear option." Under that scenario, Democrats would try to change long-standing Senate rules to strip the ability of Republicans to filibuster nominations. A block of Millett would make the pressure to change the rules "almost insurmountable," Leahy said. Obama has only placed one judge on the D.C. Circuit. In May, the Senate unanimously confirmed Sri Srinivasan, making him the first new judge there since 2006.
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