Earlier today, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Judge Shwartz for a seat on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The vote was 11-7, almost entirely on party lines. All Democrats and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) voted in Judge Shwartz’s favor, while all other Republicans voted against.
On March 8, 2012, the Judiciary Committee voted 10-6, strictly along party lines, to approve Judge Shwartz for this same Third Circuit seat, as discussed here. Today’s 11-7 vote, with Senator Graham doing the statesmanlike thing in voting for a quality nominee of a President from the opposite party, may portend that, this time, Republican efforts to block Judge Shwartz’s ascension to the Third Circuit will not succeed.