WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Sri Srinivasan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Thursday.
Srinivasan, who currently serves as the principle deputy solicitor general, was approved unanimously, according to The Washington Post.
His nomination now will be referred to the full Senate.
President Barack Obama nominated Srinivasan for the first time last year and re-nominated him in January.
The D.C. Circuit is considered by some to be the second most important court in the country, after the U.S. Supreme Court.
The court often is responsible for resolving critically important cases involving the separation of powers, the role of government, the rights of federal officials, and the decisions of a vast array of administrative agencies.
In fact, it was the D.C. Circuit that ruled Obama's "intrasession appointment" of three new members to the National Labor Relations Board was an unconstitutional abuse of power because he could not make those appointments without Senate confirmation because the Senate was not in recess.
However, the court currently has more vacancies than any other federal appeals court -- four of its 11 members.
In March, Caitlin Halligan took her name out of consideration after Republicans blocked her nomination again and again for more than two years.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.