Horan could be a federal judge
Finally. Maybe.
It appears Butler County Judge Marilyn Horan's long-anticipated ascendancy to the federal bench could happen soon. Or not.
The U.S. Senate is poised Monday to resume consideration of Horan and 11 other district court nominees, as well as four executive branch nominees, according to the chamber's executive calendar.
Additionally, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has filed cloture on those same nominations. That means Horan and the others — including U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Baxter of Erie — could finally be confirmed.
Not surprisingly, however, politics will play a role in what happens.
Under a sort of bipartisan scenario, McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer could strike a deal by which the Senate approves all the nominations by unanimous consent.
That move would allow senators to sidestep the protracted voting on each nominee.
But Democrats, according to political observers, could choose to drag out the process by insisting on cloture votes for each nominee.
Under Senate rules, lawmakers could debate every single nominee for 30 hours before a final roll call vote on the Senate floor.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, was optimistic with the latest news on the nominations.
“Sen. Toomey is pleased that the cloture has been filed on Judge Baxter's and Judge Horan's nominations,” Toomey spokesman Steve Kelly said Friday, “and our office takes that as a positive sign the Senate will confirm (the nominees).”
The state's other senator, Democrat Bob Casey, was tight-lipped.
“Cloture has been filed,” Jacklin Rhoads, Casey's deputy said Friday in an email, “but we haven't heard any news on the vote.”
McConnell in media reports Thursday vowed to keep the Senate in session this month until it approves those same judicial and executive branch nominations.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 15 confirmed Horan's nomination to fill a vacant seat on the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.
Two months earlier, President Donald Trump nominated her to serve on the federal bench. The nomination is the second time Horan's name has been put forward for one of the vacant seats on the federal court in Pittsburgh.
In July 2015, she and Baxter were both nominated by President Barack Obama.
The Republican-controlled Senate, however, failed to take a confirmation vote, and the nominations expired at the end of the congressional session in January 2017.
Both women were subsequently renominated by Trump in December.
Toomey and Casey have previously supported both the nominations of Horan and Baxter.
