Republicans boycotted the Senate Judiciary Committee's April 1 confirmation hearing for 7th Circuit nominee David F. Hamilton, complaining that Democrats were rushing the nomination.
So Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy bowed to their wishes and invited Hamilton back for a second confirmation hearing Wednesday.
But Hamilton had to face just one GOP questioner at the hearing: Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn, who acted as ranking committee member after Pennsylvanian Arlen Specter's surprise defection to the Democratic party yesterday. Coburn asked Hamilton whether he would look to international law to help him decide cases.
No other Republicans attended the hearing. Coburn, who hasn't had the customary private senatorial meeting with Hamilton since President Obama nominated him March 17, said Republicans would be "submitting a large number of questions for the record."
"We will be expeditious but also thorough," Coburn said.
Coburn said he planned to submit about 20 questions of his own for Hamilton.
Wednesday's event was also a confirmation hearing for the nomination of Andre M. Davis to the 4th Circuit. Davis' toughest inquisitor was Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold, who asked Davis about his past service on the board of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, a group that has subsidized seminars for judges.
Disability rights advocates are opposing Davis' nomination. ADA Watch and the National Coalition for Disability Rights contend that Davis' record as a federal district judge in Maryland shows a bias against disabled workers.
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