Senator Coburn yet to consent to judgeship hearing
From Ballotpedia
April 30, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C.: On January 23, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Robert Bacharach to fill a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit that has been vacant for two years.[1] At the next step in the nomination process, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to determine Judge Bacharach's suitability for the position.
Judge Bacharach's nomination hearing will not be held until both of the senators from his home state of Oklahoma consent to the proceedings. This consent has traditionally been expressed by the senators' returning of "blue slips" to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe agreed to a Senate hearing on Bacharach over a month ago, but Senator Tom Coburn has yet to give his consent to the proceedings.[2]
Senator Coburn's spokesperson Becky Bernhardt has stated that the senator will return the blue slip to the Senate Judiciary Committee once the committee has finished reviewing all of Judge Bacharach's nomination materials. She explained that placement on the U.S. Court of Appeals is a lifetime appointment, and that the Senate therefore has a duty to consider all nomination materials carefully. However, Erica Chabot, a spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary Committee, has suggested that the committee is waiting on Senator Coburn, and that a hearing cannot be scheduled until both blue slips are returned.[2]