The Obama Administration’s second-ranking advocate before the Supreme Court, principal deputy U.S. Solicitor General Sri Srinivasan, was nominated by President Obama on Monday to a seat on the D.C. Circuit Court. The White House announcement is here. He has held his position in the SG’s office since August of last year. Over his career, he has argued 20 times before the Supreme Court. The President also has renominated a New York state prosecutor, Caitlin Halligan, to a D.C. Circuit seat. Her earlier nomination was blocked in the Senate last year.
The D.C. Circuit Court currently has three vacancies, but there is continued opposition among some Republicans in the Senate to filling those vacancies. One of the open seats — formerly held by now-Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. — has been vacant since Roberts was elevated seven years ago. The other two seats have been vacant four years and one year, after sitting Circuit judges took senior status, while remaining on the Court for some continuing service.
It is doubtful that the President’s new nominees will be approved by the Senate this year, since a presidential election is due in November and the Senate tends to slow down on judicial nominations in that situation.
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