Obama's Legion of Unconfirmed Nominees

In September 2010, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of New York lawyer Caitlin Halligan to replace John Roberts on the D.C. District Court of Appeals. Halligan waited for more than a year as her file made its way through the Senate. Finally, just before her nomination was about to expire in December, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) brought it to the floor for a vote. Republicans promptly launched a filibuster, putting an end to Halligan’s chances of serving on the most prestigious federal appeals court.

In all, 181 of Obama’s nominees are waiting to be confirmed, including his picks for director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Under Secretary of the Energy Dept., and Comptroller of the Currency. Seventy-four are sitting on the Senate calendar, almost twice as many as George W. Bush had at the same time in his first term, the White House complains.