密歇根新闻广播 特朗普任命的人才能否得到参议员的支持

Joan Larsen faces a tangled¹ path to a plum spot on a federal appeals court. The only thing standing² in her way is Michigan’s two U.S. Senators.

Joan Larsen is a Michigan Supreme³ Court justice. She was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder.

She’s popular with Michigan Republicans and Democrats⁴ and she’s recently been nominated by President Trump⁵ to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

It’s a court that has made some big decisions like in 2014 when it ruled on Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban.

It was the only federal appeals court in the country to uphold a state ban on same-sex marriage. That decision famously sent the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Larsen was on President Trump’s list of possible U.S. Supreme Court nominees⁷ when he was candidate Trump. So, this nomination⁸ is no surprise.

But, the position must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate where there is a courtesy known as the “blue slip.” The tradition dates back at least 100 years and it allows senators from a nominee⁶’s home state to give a ‘yea’ or a ‘nay’ on the nominee.

Michigan’s two Democratic U.S. senators - Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters - have done neither. They have yet to return their blue slips on Joan Larsen.

And that is holding up the Senate confirmation⁹ process.

It has become a political issue. A conservative group called the Judicial¹⁰ Crisis Network has spent at least $140,000 on an ad that calls the delay “partisan¹¹ politics.”

And, maybe it is partisan politics. But, it’s not new.

Just last year in fact, in the Sixth Circuit, President Obama nominated a state Supreme Court Justice from Kentucky. And, guess what? Both Republican Senators from that state - Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul - held on to their ‘blue slips.’

It wasn’t until President Trump was sworn in and nominated a different candidate that they turned in the slips. So, are we seeing a little payback here?

The ‘blue slip’ is the minority party’s only card since Senate Democrats ended the option of filibustering¹² lower court nominations¹³.

So now, Michigan Senators Stabenow and Peters seem to be compiling their own list of potential federal court nominees. A recent joint¹⁴ release invites people to “apply” through their offices to fill vacancies¹⁵ on federal courts here in Michigan.

Next move, Republicans?

There’s talk the Senate committee chair could simply ignore the ‘blue slip’ process and allow the nomination to go forward. It’s a tradition, not a law. But, it would be a big deal to suddenly change a Senate courtesy after a century.

Trump could also withdraw the Larsen nomination and name someone from a state in the Sixth Circuit with Republican senators. Tennessee and Kentucky both fit that bill.

It’s a game of political chicken. We’ll see how far it goes.

1 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

7 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

10 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

11 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

12 filibustering   

v.阻碍或延宕国会或其他立法机构通过提案( filibuster的现在分词 )；掠夺

参考例句：

13 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

14 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

15 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》