Tennessee Senators Help Block Vote on Judicial Nominee

Tennessee’s U.S. Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander helped block a vote on a presidential nomination to a federal appeals court.

President Obama nominated Goodwin Liu, a Berkley law professor, to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last year.

Yesterday, Democrats could not muster enough Republican support to end a filibuster of the nomination.

In a written statement, Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander said, “I reserve the right to vote against allowing an up or down vote in an extraordinary case. I consider this to be an extraordinary case.”

Republicans have criticized Liu for comments he made about the nomination of Samuel Alito Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court.