The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee announced that Jacquelyn D. Austin has been confirmed to serve as judge of the United States District Court of the District of South Carolina.
President Joe Biden nominated Austin to the seat vacated by Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2022.
CONFIRMED: Jacquelyn Austin to the District of South Carolina
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) January 24, 2024
A highly qualified jurist, Judge Austin earned bipartisan support for her confirmation.
She will serve this court with honor. pic.twitter.com/tPqXmpc75j
On January 24, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 79-17 vote, and later that day earned bipartisan support for her confirmation by an 80-17 vote.
[Note: Cloture is a strategy used in the Senate “to avoid a filibuster by limiting the length of debate on a bill. To invoke cloture, 60 Senators must vote for it.”]
While many MAGA Senators including Josh Hawley (MO), Rand Paul (KY), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Tommy Tuberville (AL), and J.D. Vance (OH) voted against Austin’s confirmation, both Republican South Carolina Senators — Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham — voted for Austin.
Note: The Senate Judiciary Committee is chaired by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), who led the Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination hearings in 2022. (Brown Jackson filled the vacancy of Justice Stephen Breyer.)
Justice Thomas is currently hearing arguments in two important cases, presented by lawyers supported by a political network he shielded his affiliation with.
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) January 17, 2024
That can't stand.
His failure to recuse shows why the Chief Justice must implement an *enforceable* code of conduct.
Since President Biden took office, the Senate Judiciary Committee has confirmed 168 judges to the federal bench, and in July advanced a bill to require an enforceable code of conduct for Supreme Court Justices.
