Nevada judicial nominee Boulware scheduled for U.S. Senate vote
WASHINGTON — The Senate has scheduled confirmation votes next week on Richard Boulware, the Las Vegas federal public defender proposed to become a Nevada federal judge.
Setting the Senate’s schedule for next week, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada on Thursday filed a motion that would lead to votes on Boulware. Senators are expected to take a procedural cloture vote early in the week followed by a full confirmation vote.
Because Reid in the fall changed Senate nomination rules, Boulware will need only a simply majority to advance, rather than the 60 votes usually required for cloture. Final confirmation likewise will require 50 votes, a threshold Boulware is expected to exceed in the Senate that has 55 Democratic caucus members and 45 Republicans.
“He’s got the votes,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond who studies judicial politics. Reid, who proposed Boulware for the post, “doesn’t need Republican votes for cloture and he’s got Democrats enough to make a majority.”
Boulware’s nomination ran into Republican opposition in April when Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned his experience and whether he could be an impartial judge since he had done advocacy work as an officer in the Las Vegas branch of the NAACP.
The nominee advanced through the Senate Judiciary Committee on an 11-7 vote, with all Republicans voting against him except Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. Boulware also is supported by Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at STetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.
