Senate Judiciary Committee advances several Justice Department and agency nominees amid partisan debate

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to report several executive branch and agency nominees to the Senate floor after debate and a series of roll-call and voice votes.

Nominees favorably reported included Stanley Woodward to be associate attorney general; Elliot Geyser to be assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel; Joseph Edlow to be director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); Ronald Parsons to be U.S. attorney for the District of South Dakota; and John Squires to be director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The clerk announced each nomination as receiving a majority and that the nominations would be reported to the Senate floor.

Debate included extended objections and concerns from several Democratic senators about policy positions…