The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

A broad coalition of civil rights groups, including the Alliance for Justice, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and People For the American Way, is urging senators to eliminate the confirmation backlog of judicial and executive branch nominees.

A letter sent today to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R. Ky., states: "The obstruction of many of President Obama's nominees through filibuster threats and anonymous 'holds' is hindering the important work of our judicial and executive branches of government and threatening any prospect of bipartisan cooperation on many pressing national issues important to all Americans." Forty-five groups signed the letter.

Since taking office in January, President Obama has nominated 18 people to serve as judges on the federal courts.  Only one has been confirmed by the Senate.  In addition, the nominations of Tom Perez to head the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and Dawn Johnsen to head the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel are still pending.  Johnsen's nomination has been pending since the Senate Judiciary Committee approved it in March.

Given that the nation is facing major challenges like an economic recession, the groups argue that blocking these important nominations "will poison the political atmosphere, needlessly heighten partisan tensions, and make it far more difficult for the federal government to serve the public interest in any respect."