Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

Only a few weeks ago, the White House appeared pleased that Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) agreed, under GOP pressure, to move three appellate nominees through the Senate by Memorial Day. Here was an opportunity, some conservatives thought, to finally approve the long-standing nomination of former Justice Department official Peter D. Keisler for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and provide reinforcements for the 4th Circuit, a conservative bulwark that handles some of the country's most sensitive terrorism cases.