Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is asking for a hearing on the nomination of a Madison attorney to the nation’s longest-standing appeals court vacancy.
In a letter dated Tuesday, Baldwin asked U.S. Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa to hold a hearing on the nomination of Donald K. Schott to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
“I urge the Committee to grant his nomination a hearing and vote as soon as possible,” Baldwin wrote.
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The 7th Circuit vacancy is the nation’s oldest. President Barack Obama’s previous nomination in 2010 was blocked by Baldwin’s Republican counterpart, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, shortly after his election. Johnson said last month he would not block Schott’s nomination.
The 7th Circuit has played a huge role in Wisconsin in recent years, weighing in on issues ranging from John Doe investigations to collective bargaining. The vacancy likely prevented a broad challenge to Wisconsin’s voter ID law from advancing to the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago.
Schott was nominated by Obama in January. A spokesman for Grassley said the Judiciary Committee is currently working on nominations that came earlier than that.
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