The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced six judicial nominees Thursday as California Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned from an extended absence, but the panel continued to delay consideration of Michael Delaney's nomination to the First Circuit.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have continued pressing Harlan Crow for detailed information on gifts, transportation and lodging provided to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas over the years even as Crow's attorney rebuffed a separate Senate inquiry into the real estate magnate's relationship with the justice.
Chief Justice John Roberts sent a letter to Senate Democrats on Monday clarifying the timeline of the recent statement on ethics the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court signed in response to an inquiry ahead of Tuesday's Judiciary Committee hearing on the court's ethics policies.
Senators and legal experts debated the constitutionality and practicality of Congress forcing the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct in a hearing Tuesday that laid bare the stark partisan divide on views of the high court's ethics policies.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced an Idaho district court nominee to the Senate floor by voice vote Thursday, and the Senate also approved a procedural motion on a Ninth Circuit nominee, setting up a possible confirmation next week.