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 and past statements by some nominees. Senator Hirono objected to Edlow’s nomination, citing his association with Project 2025 and saying Edlow’s past public statements signaled opposition to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); Hirono said she would vote no. She warned that Project 2025 “calls for a wholesale restructuring of agencies” and said its proposals would, in her view, “grind our legal immigration system to a halt” and could include denaturalization proposals. Hirono said Edlow “refused to say whether he would comply with court orders” in his responses to questions for the record and said about DACA participants, “there are about 500,000 persons who are DACA participants,” arguing that they could face deportation if DACA were ended.

Committee members also debated nominees’ views about following federal court orders. Senator Kennedy’s comments were cited as establishing a standard that executive-branch officials must follow court orders; some nominees’ written answers prompted follow-up questioning about whether they would advise clients or the executive branch to comply with court orders in all circumstances. One senator said nominees had given nuanced answers; committee members exchanged views on whether those answers met the committee’s standard.

The committee recorded expressed opposition on select nominations. For the Ronald Parsons nomination to be U.S. attorney for South Dakota, several senators asked to be recorded in the negative; the chairman recorded those requests and the clerk noted the nomination would be reported. For other nominations the clerk indicated many “aye” and “no by proxy” entries during roll-call; the clerk announced that each nominee received enough votes to be reported to the floor.

The confirmation votes advance the nominees to the full Senate for consideration; no floor votes or further scheduling were announced during the session.

The markup also included broader policy remarks tied to the nominations and national events, including discussion about law enforcement response to unrest in Los Angeles, concerns about vetting Afghan evacuees raised by an inspector general report, and a senator’s announcement of legislation to reform the Insurrection Act. Those remarks were part of the opening statements and debate and did not alter the formal nomination outcomes recorded by the clerk.