Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has moved to end a Republican filibuster against 17 judicial nominees, using a parliamentary maneuver that would limit debate time if he can get 60 votes.
Reid said Monday he acted in response to the slow pace of confirmations of President Barack Obama's picks for the federal bench. He said Republicans should end the delays immediately to ease the backlog of cases in federal courts.
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said Reid's action is nothing more than a political stunt designed to distract Americans from the Democrats' legislative failures.
Republicans have argued the pace is consistent with Democratic approvals of former President George W. Bush's nominees. They also have said Obama has been slow to nominate people to fill judicial vacancies.
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