Two New Jerseyans’ nominations to be federal judges are among the fourteen that have been put on hold while Dianne Feinstein, an 89-year-old Democratic U.S. Senator from California who is healing from shingles, stays away for a long time.
Last December, President Joe Biden said that he wanted to put Michael Farbiarz and Robert Kirsch on the U.S. District Court bench. Kirsch is a Superior Court judge, and Farbiarz is the general counsel for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He used to be a federal lawyer.
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard from Farbiarz and Kirsch on January 25, but the committee hasn’t made a decision yet. There are 11 Democrats and 10 Republicans on the Judiciary Committee.
Feinstein has skipped more than 70% of the votes in the Senate this session, so she has asked to be replaced on the Judiciary Committee for now. Some Democrats want Feinstein to step down so that Gov. Gavin Newsom can choose a new senator to replace her.
Last year, the San Francisco Chronicle said that four of her coworkers were not sure if he was still smart enough to stay in office.
NBC News says that Republicans aren’t willing to help Democrats deal with the Feinstein problem. The Democrats have a majority of 51-49, but they need 60 votes to replace Feinstein.
The senior U.S. Senator from New Jersey, Bob Menendez, told the New Jersey Globe, “I’m sure Senators Schumer and Durbin will keep up the historic pace of judicial confirmations.”
Farbiarz and Kirsch don’t have a clear opponent.
New Jersey has two more District Court spots that are empty in addition to these two. In September, Judge John Michael Vazquez will leave his job, and in October, Kevin McNulty will become a senior judge.
Since taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden has put forward and gotten approval for six U.S. District Court judges: Julian X. Neals, Zahid Quraishi, Christine O’Hearn, Karen Williams, Georgette Castner, and Evelyn Padin.
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