Senate Expected to Confirm Sotomayor Today

Daphne Eviatar — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:48:39 +0000

After a 12-hour “debate” yesterday during which senators largely repeated the same arguments for and against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor that we heard during her confirmation hearing, the Senate is set to vote on the nominee today.

Although there’s no question that Sotomayor will be confirmed, she’s expected to receive only about ten Republican votes, at best, dashing President Obama’s initial hopes of winning strong bipartisan support for his first high court nominee. Concerns about guns, property rights and her alleged bias in favor of Latinas have dominated the Republicans’ explanations for why they won’t support her — though payback for Obama’s frequently mentioned votes as a senator against Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, and the Democrats’ refusal to allow a vote on appeals court nominee Miguel Estrada, also seemed to motivate Sotomayor’s GOP opponents.

Given that Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court, the strong Republican opposition could have costs for the party.

As Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said at a rally yesterday: “To say you cannot vote for this qualified Latina sends a message to us, as a community, that we will not forget.”

Senate Judiciary Committee to Vote on Sotomayor Next Week

Daphne Eviatar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:48:08 +0000

Although Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has scheduled a committee vote on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for tomorrow, ranking Republican Jeff Sessions has said he’ll ask to hold off the vote for another week — a request that would automatically be granted. So the vote is expected to take place on Tuesday, July 28.

The full Senate vote on her nomination is expected to take place the following week.

The Washington Independent » sotomayor vote

Senate Expected to Confirm Sotomayor Today

Senate Judiciary Committee to Vote on Sotomayor Next Week