Chris Schwartz
Waterloo
In his first year as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senator Grassley has obstructed a number of nominees for the courts. Under Grassley’s failed leadership, the Senate Judiciary Committee has confirmed an embarrassingly low number of judicial nominees, and Grassley is on pace to become the most obstructionist Judiciary Chairman in American history.
By stalling federal judicial nominees, Senator Grassley has our federal courts in a stall and is responsible for judicial emergencies across the country. As thousands of Americans desperately await their day in court, Sen. Grassley continues to move most nominations at a snail’s pace while leapfrogging his nominees to the front of the line. Judicial nominations shouldn’t be arbitrary, and it’s time for Sen. Grassley to stop playing politics with the nomination process. His obstruction of the federal court system is bad for the country, and it threatens the delicate “checks and balances” relationship between the legislative and judicial branches.
Sen. Grassley isn’t concerned about the stalemate and claims to be making “good progress.” Eleven in a year is not “good progress” and is on pace for the fewest confirmations since 1960. Despite his obstruction, Sen. Grassley is more than happy to utilize federal courts when it promotes his personal political agenda. Last month in an Iowa Public Radio interview, Senator Grassley vowed to use the courts to fight the EPA. He wants to use the same courts he’s been holding hostage for the past year to fight personal political battles. Sen. Grassley wants his day in court, but doesn’t want Americans to have theirs. It’s time for the senator to stop the obstruction of judicial nominees, and stop preventing justice for Americans across the country.