Bush uses recess to appoint Pickering to the bench

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President George W. Bush, stymied by a two-year delay in the congressional appointment of Charles W. Pickering to the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal, sidestepped Congress Jan. 16 by using a recess appointment to promote him.

“Judge Pickering has served with distinction as a United States District Judge since he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 1990,” Bush said in a short statement. “He is highly qualified to serve on the Court of Appeals and has widespread bipartisan support from those who know him best.”

Bush took Congress to task for failing to take a vote on his appointment. According to law, federal judicial appointments are made by the president, but must be confirmed by the Senate. For more than two years, most of Bush’s high profile judicial appointments have either been voted down or remained in limbo by using the filibuster process.

“A bipartisan majority of Senators supports his confirmation, and if he were given a vote, he would be confirmed,” the president said. “But a minority of Democratic Senators has been using unprecedented obstructionist tactics to prevent him and other qualified individuals from receiving up-or-down votes. Their tactics are inconsistent with the Senate’s constitutional responsibility and are hurting our judicial system.”

The seat taken by Pickering has been designated as a judicial emergency.

“He will perform a valuable service on a court that needs more judges to do its work with the efficiency the American people deserve and expect,” he said. “Again I call on the Senate to stop playing politics with the American judicial system and to give my nominees the up-or-down votes they deserve.”

Pickering kept his comments to a minimum, saying he was glad to finally be looking ahead.

“I’m grateful to the president for his continued confidence and support,” Pickering told the Associated Press.

The move brought accolades in conservative circles, which have been frustrated by the judicial logjam.

“The actions of Pickering’s opponents in the Senate haven’t been merely bad politics; they have been tantamount to religious discrimination and blatant injustice,” Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Ministries, said in a news release.

“The president’s move today to bypass the confirmation process with a recess appointment was the right move, not just for Judge Pickering but also for our judicial process.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said Pickering will be an exemplary judge.

“This is a bold and necessary move by President Bush,” he said. “Left-wing groups and their allies on the Senate Judiciary Committee have worked overtime these past three years to besmirch the character and record of Mr. Pickering. Charles Pickering is exactly the type of judge this country needs on our federal bench.”

Perkins said he hopes the move is just the first step in bringing the federal courts back into balance.

“At a time when our courts at every level are overstepping their bounds by sanctioning same-sex marriage and infanticide and stripping us of our religious freedoms, President Bush has taken the first step to ensure that our federal courts are filled with jurists who understand their role is to follow the Constitution, not reinvent it,” Perkins said.

Published by Keener Communications Group, February 2004

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