President Barack Obama re-nominated a bevy of judicial candidates on Wednesday, asking the new Senate to vote on 42 contenders whose names stalled in the 111th Congress.
On Wednesday’s list: Connecticut’s Susan L. Carney, nominated by the White House to be a judge on the 2nd Circuit. Carney is now deputy general counsel at Yale, and her candidacy hasn’t sparked controversy so far. She was first nominated in May of last year.
Not on Wednesday’s list: Connecticut’s Robert Chatigny, also nominated to serve on the 2nd Circuit. Now a District Court judge in Hartford, Chatigny sparked considerable GOP opposition when he was first nominated more than ten months ago.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut, said he had considered Chatigny “very capable,” but that he couldn’t overcome Republican resistance.
Asked if he had a new candidate in mind, Lieberman said not yet. Although the White House nominates federal judge candidates, they often seek recommendations from home-state senators.
“I’ll talk to my colleague Sen. Blumenthal, and we’ll see if we want to give any advice,” he said,