Archive - Ed Whelan’s Confirmation Tales

February 2025

Bill Frist's Huge Task in 2005

How to thwart the filibuster of judicial nominees

Feb 27 •

George W. Bush's Dashed Hopes

Wrapping up judicial confirmations in his first term

Feb 20 •

Senate Democrats Intensify Filibuster Campaign

Ten Bush appellate nominees are blocked in 2003 and 2004

Feb 13 •

William Pryor's Gamble on Recess Appointment Pays Off

Liberal Democrats' abortion politics backfires

Feb 6 •

January 2025

William Pryor Takes Tortuous Path to Eleventh Circuit

His shocking testimony guarantees Democratic filibuster

Jan 30 •

Teddy Roosevelt Quickly Regrets Appointing Justice Holmes

“I could carve out of a banana a judge with more backbone"

Jan 23 •

The Mystery of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.'s Recess Appointment

What did Theodore Roosevelt actually do?

Jan 16 •

New Year's Trivia Answers

The long and the short of it

Jan 9 •

Ring in the New Year

Some challenging trivia questions

Jan 2 •

December 2024

A Christmas Sampler

And welcome to a New Year of Confirmation Tales!

Dec 26, 2024 •

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts