U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Calls on Majority Leader McConnell to Schedule Floor Vote on Longest Standing Federal Circuit Court Vacancy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) requesting that he schedule a floor vote on Donald Schott’s nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Last week, Schott’s nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee with a strong bipartisan vote.

“This Wisconsin seat on the Seventh Circuit has been vacant longer than any other federal circuit court judgeship, for more than six years. The people of my home state of Wisconsin, as well as our neighbors in Illinois and Indiana, deserve a fully-functioning federal appeals court to ensure the swift and thorough administration of justice,” Senator Baldwin wrote to Majority Leader McConnell.  

Mr. Schott earned the bipartisan support of a majority of the Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission established by Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson (R-WI). President Obama nominated Schott to the Seventh Circuit on January 12, 2016.

A bipartisan group of former Wisconsin State Bar Presidents support Schott’s nomination, as do nearly fifty Wisconsin law professors.

In her letter to Majority Leader McConnell, Senator Baldwin wrote, “Don Schott has received strong, bipartisan support throughout out this nomination process because he has the experience, qualifications and temperament to be an outstanding federal judge.  He deserves the opportunity for due consideration on the Senate floor and I urge you to schedule a vote on his nomination at the earliest opportunity and without undue delay.”

An online version of Senator Baldwin’s letter is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.