Senate Republicans blocked a nominee Wednesday to the second-highest federal court in the nation, filibustering her with claims of judicial activism, as Democrats accused the GOP of a politically motivated effort to halt the career of a potential Supreme Court justice.
Caitlin Halligan, a New York lawyer nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, received 51 votes to cut off debate and move to a final vote, nine short of the amount needed to end the Republican filibuster. Sen. Lisa A. Murkowski (Alaska) was the lone GOP senator to support ending the filibuster.
