Obama judicial nominee can't win confirmation, Leahy says
Judge Michael Boggs.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says a Georgia appeals court judge does not have enough votes to win confirmation to a federal judgeship.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said on Monday that the nomination of Judge Michael Boggs should be withdrawn, report the Associated Press, the Daily Report (sub. req.) and the New York Times. Boggs was nominated in a deal with Georgia’s two Republican senators to fill seven judicial vacancies in the state.
Boggs is controversial because of positions he took when he was a Georgia state senator from 2001 to 2003. He supported restricting abortions, keeping the Confederate battle emblem on the Georgia flag, and banning same-sex marriages through a state constitutional amendment, the Daily Report says. Boggs retreated from some of those positions at his confirmation hearing, saying he was offended by the former state flag and he no longer believes a judge would be engaging in activism by overturning the same-sex marriage ban.
A spokesperson for President Obama said the president still has confidence in Boggs and believes he has the qualifications to be a federal judge.
Hat tip to How Appealing.
