Senate unanimously approves Srinivasan

Associated Press

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals

Of all the recent judicial confirmation votes, today's was the most important.

After five years of trying, President Barack Obama has placed his first nominee on a key appeals court in Washington.

The Senate voted unanimously on Thursday to confirm Sri Srinivasan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The court is considered the most important in the country after the Supreme Court. The Senate voted 97-0 in favor of his nomination.

Srinivasan is currently the principal deputy in the Office of the Solicitor General. He has worked in both Democratic and Republican administrations and served as a law clerk to former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Srinivasan's name also came to public prominence in March: he's the attorney who argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that the Defense of Marriage Act should be struck down.

So why is his confirmation so important? For one thing, the D.C. Circuit is generally considered the second highest federal bench in the nation, behind only the U.S. Supreme Court, in part because it hears so many regulatory cases related to the federal government. President Obama named exactly zero jurists to the D.C. Circuit in his first term, which has proven to be a problem.

Indeed, Senate Republicans, as recently as last month, said they hoped to keep that going indefinitely, preventing each of the president's nominees from reaching the D.C. Circuit for both of Obama's terms. Obviously, as of today, that strategy is no more.

Also note the circumstances that led to today's vote.

[T]his week, Reid used the Senate rules to provoke a confrontation: Technically he filed cloture on Srinivasan's nomination, guaranteeing him at least a test vote this week. More meaningfully, he forced McConnell to choose between sustaining a filibuster against Srinivasan through early June (a move that would have helped Reid build his case for changing the rules this summer) and agreeing to a confirmation vote now (effectively caving).

McConnell caved Thursday morning on the Senate floor. A small cave. But a cave nonetheless.

So, does all of this mean people like me should complain less about judicial vacancies and Republicans blocking the president's nominees? Well, no, at least not yet. Srinivasan's confirmation was a welcome development, but let's not forget that his seat on the D.C. Circuit has sat empty for nearly five years.

What's more, Srinivasan enjoyed unanimous support, but it nevertheless took nearly a full year to confirm him (Obama nominated him last June).

As for what's next, three of the 11 seats on the D.C. Circuit are still vacant. The White House insists nominations for each of these vacancies is on the way.

Postscript: If you haven't already heard the scuttlebutt, Srinivasan is already being talked about as a possible Supreme Court justice in the future. In other words, remember the name.