WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - One of President Barack Obama's nominees for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will have a confirmation hearing next week.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has an April 10 confirmation hearing scheduled for Sri Srinivasan, who currently is the principle deputy solicitor general. Obama nominated him the first time last year and re-nominated him in January.
Republicans have said they want to know more about Srinivasan's role in a Fair Housing Act settlement from last year and have delayed the hearing to get more information from the Department of Justice about the settlement.
The 11-member D.C. Circuit has four openings. Last month, Caitlin Halligan took her name out of consideration after Republicans blocked her nomination again and again for more than two years.
White House spokesman Jay Carney on Monday mentioned Srinivasan's hearing.
"The D.C. Circuit, as you know, is often considered the nation's second-highest court, but it has twice as many vacancies as any other court of appeals, and its workload has increased by over 20 percent since 2005," Carney said. "Sri's confirmation will be an important first step to filling this court's four vacancies, and he will be, when confirmed, the first South Asian circuit court judge in history."
D.C. Circuit nominee hearing set for April 10
