Senate Judiciary Committee reports Patrick Davis nomination after 12-10 vote
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Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 to report the nomination of Patrick Davis to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs to the full Senate; senators exchanged remarks about committee oversight and returned other nominations to a later date.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 to report the nomination of Patrick Davis to be assistant attorney general for the Office of Legislative Affairs, the panel announced after a roll-call vote during its meeting.
Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told colleagues that Davis "is the right man for this job," noting that Davis had previously worked for him and that he expected Davis to take seriously the department's obligation to work with Congress.
The vote followed brief remarks from committee members and a clerks' roll call. The clerk announced "the ayes are 12, the nays are 10." Senator Grassley then stated that "Mr. Davis will be reported." Several members asked that their full statements be entered in the record.
Why it matters: Reporting a nomination from committee sends it to the full Senate for consideration. Committee discussion focused on Davis's prior work with congressional oversight and members' expectations about timely responses to oversight letters. Several senators said they had outstanding correspondence with the Department of Justice while Davis led the Office of Legislative Affairs.
Details and context: During the meeting Chairman Grassley said he would vote on the Davis nomination immediately after remarks from Ranking Member Dick Durbin. Senator Chris Coons asked to enter his statement for the record and noted letters he and others had sent to the department. Senator Grassley explained that two other assistant attorney general nominees (John Eisenberg and Brett Shumate) were listed for the first time and would be held over to the committee's next meeting.
Votes at a glance: The clerk called the roll for the Davis nomination. Senators explicitly recorded in the transcript as voting "aye" included Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Gordon, Senator Lee and Senator Ted Cruz. Senators explicitly recorded as voting "no" included Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Alex Padilla, Senator Peter Welch (by proxy) and Senator Adam Schiff. The clerk summarized the tally as 12 ayes and 10 nays.
What this does not show: The committee did not take a separate roll-call vote on the other two nominees; those nominations were held for a later meeting. The committee also did not take a final Senate vote on Davis at this meeting; it reported the nomination to the full Senate for further action.
Ending: With the committee's action, the Davis nomination moves to the Senate calendar; committee members on both sides said they expect continued oversight of Department of Justice correspondence going forward.
