Senate confirms 99th and 100th Obama judicial nominees

The Senate on Tuesday afternoon confirmed the 99th and 100th Obama judicial nominees this year, keeping a pace that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, celebrated as faster than in previous years.

The Senate confirmed Timothy M. Cain, 99-0, to serve on the District Court for South Carolina after receiving a ringing endorsement from his senator and former law firm partner Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

“You will not find one person who has practiced before Cain as a lawyer who has anything but high praise for him,” Graham said. “He is the total package.”

The Senate also confirmed John Andrew Ross to the District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri.

Prior to the vote, Grassley touted the pace of the Senate in confirming Obama’s nominees as faster than previous Congresses, including those controlled by Democrats when President George W. Bush held the White House.

But Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, complained that Republicans were still miring the progress of Democratic nominees.

The nominees have “been pending for 170 days without justification,” Leahy said prior to the vote.

This story was updated at 6:57 p.m.