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What the Constitution Requires of the Senate on Judicial Nominees

Lawyer Adam White writes in the Des Moines Register that federal judicial nominees aren't entitled to get a vote in the Senate. This has been a Democratic-party complaint after Republican senators once again blocked some of President Obama's judicial nominees. White points out, however, that the federal constitution doesn't require action by the Senate on judical nominees. "So if the Senate does not 'owe' all judicial nominations an up-or-down majority vote, then how does the Constitution resolve disputes between the president and the Senate over the Senate’s failure to vote on nominations?" White asks. "Simply put, the Constitution doesn’t resolve those disputes."