Thurmond Rule

This is an informal rule of the U.S. Senate that is not universally accepted.Perine, Keith. [http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002691165 “Leahy Blames Republican Holds for Blocking Justice Nominees”] , "CQ Politics" (2008-03-20).] [Kady, Ryan; Grim, Martin. [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/8839.html “Nominations staredown in the Senate”] , "The Politico" (2008-03-05).] According to this purported rule, judicial confirmation proceedings will not occur toward the end of a presidential term, especially if the nomination is controversial and if the president is a lame duck. The rule is named for the late U.S. Senator from South Carolina, Strom Thurmond, who also served as the chair of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

In March 2008, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy wrote a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, stating: “I urge you to work with senators from other states, as well, so that we might make progress before time runs out on your presidency and the Thurmond rule precludes additional confirmations.”

This informal and controversial rule has often been dismissed by Senators of both parties. For example, U.S. Senator Orin Hatch stated in 2004: "Strom Thurmond unilaterally on his own . . . when he was chairman could say whatever he wanted to, but that didn't bind the whole committee, and it doesn't bind me." [Davidson, Lee. [http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595078786,00.html “Griffith to miss Demos' deadline”] , "Deseret Morning News" (2004-07-21).] Likewise, Senator Leahy stated in 2000 that, “We cannot afford to follow the Thurmond Rule and stop acting on these nominees now in anticipation of the presidential election in November.”Earle, Geoff. [http://web.archive.org/web/20040722212816/http://www.hillnews.com/news/072104/thurmond.aspx “Senators spar over ‘Thurmond Rule’”] , "The Hill" (2004-07-21). Via archive.org.] And former Senator Trent Lott offered this reaction:

If this is indeed a valid rule, it is not rigid. For instance, in December 1980, Judge Stephen Breyer (now a U.S. Supreme Court Justice) was confirmed to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. And in 1984, when Thurmond was chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee, judicial confirmations occurred that fall. In addition, in 2008, when Leahy was chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee, a batch of 10 district court nominees were confirmed on September 26, 2008 after having had hearings several weeks earlier. [http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200809/092608f.html]

External links

Specter, Arlen. [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2007_record&page=S27&position=all “Judicial Nominations”] , "Congressional Record" (2007-01-04).

Footnotes