Washington, D.C. — Today President Barack Obama nominated a slate of judges to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden issued the following statement:
The president’s nomination today of Cornelia T.L. Pillard, Patricia Ann Millett, and Robert L. Wilkins—all individuals with outstanding legal credentials—is an unequivocal statement about the importance of the D.C. Circuit and a fully functioning judiciary. From health care to labor relations and consumer protections, the D.C. Circuit renders judgment on important national issues that directly affect the lives of the American people. After years of vacancies and a backlog of cases, it’s past time for the D.C. Circuit to have a full complement of judges.
All too often, of late, the president’s nominees—including those to the D.C. Circuit and lower courts—have faced unprecedented obstruction for obstruction’s sake by a determined minority in the Senate. Elections have consequences and the American people deserve a fully functioning judiciary made up of diverse, well-qualified judges. The president’s nominations today reflect the fair-minded values that the American people expect out of their judicial system. Congress should fulfill its responsibilities and act with haste.
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