Controversial Obama Judicial Nominee Faces Possible Senate Filibuster
Rob Bluey /
A lifetime appointment to the federal bench is now selling for $700,000. At least that was the cost for Rhode Island judicial nominee Jack McConnell, who has donated that sum of money to Democrats in the two decades before President Obama tapped him for federal district court.
McConnell faces a Senate confirmation vote as early as today, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown that could open the floodgates for a series of other controversial nominees such as Goodwin Liu, Edward Chen and Louis B. Butler Jr.
Obama’s selection of McConnell was met with widespread disappointment. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for the first time in its 99-year history, announced its opposition to a district court nominee. The American Bar Association — the “gold standard” for liberals — gave McConnell a mediocre rating. And the pro-life Family Research Council isn’t thrilled with his past leadership of Planned Parenthood in Rhode Island.
Now he faces the ultimate test — a vote on the Senate floor.