David McKeague
Encyclopedia
David William McKeague (born November 5, 1946 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
) is a federal judge
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
.
in 1968, and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School
in 1971. He began his career in private practice in Lansing, Michigan
until 1992, when President George H.W. Bush appointed him to a federal district judgeship on the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
. He remained on that bench until his confirmation to the Sixth Circuit.
to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
vacated by the Judge Richard Fred Suhrheinrich
, who had taken senior status
the previous summer. On the same day, Bush also nominated Henry Saad
and Susan Bieke Neilson
to Michigan seats on the Sixth Circuit. On June 26, 2002, Bush nominated Richard Allen Griffin
to a fourth Michigan seat on the Sixth Circuit. During the Democrat-controlled 107th Congress, all four nominations were stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee by then chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy
, D-VT.
In the 2002 midterm congressional elections, the Republicans regained control of the Senate. During the new 108th Congress, Senator Orrin Hatch
, R-UT, the new Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee began to process the previously blocked four nominees. In March 2003, Michigan's two Democratic senators, Carl Levin
and Debbie Stabenow
announced that they would blue-slip all Bush judicial nominees from Michigan because Bush refused to renominate Helene White
and Kathleen McCree Lewis
, two Michigan nominees to the Sixth Circuit whose nominations the Senate Republicans had refused to process during President Bill Clinton
's second term. Helene White at the time was married to Levin's cousin.
Contrary to Levin's and Stabenow's wishes, Hatch gave Saad, McKeague and Griffin committee hearings, and passed the three nominees out of committee. Furious, Levin and Stabenow convinced their caucus to filibuster the three in order to prevent them from having confirmation votes.
The Senate Republicans increased their numbers in the 109th Congress. Tensions between the Republicans and Democrats rose dramatically as the Republicans sought to break the filibusters of ten Bush court of appeals nominees (including Saad, McKeague and Griffin) by using the nuclear option
. In order to defuse the explosive situation concerning the use of the nuclear option and Democrats' obstruction of President Bush's judicial nominations
, fourteen moderate Republican and Democratic senators called the Gang of 14
joined together to forge an agreement to guarantee certain filibustered nominations up or down votes. Henry Saad and William Myers, however, were expressly excluded from the guarantee.
Following the 2005 Gang of 14
compromise, McKeague was given a vote along with fellow Sixth Circuit nominee Richard Allen Griffin
. Both Levin and Stabenow ultimately voted in favor of McKeague on June 9, 2005 when he was confirmed by the full U.S. Senate 96-0. McKeague was the fifth judge nominated to the Sixth Circuit by Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate
.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
) is a federal judge
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Kentucky* Western District of Kentucky...
.
Background
McKeague received a B.A. from the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1968, and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...
in 1971. He began his career in private practice in Lansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
until 1992, when President George H.W. Bush appointed him to a federal district judgeship on the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan is the Federal district court with jurisdiction over of the western portion of the state of Michigan, including the entire Upper Peninsula....
. He remained on that bench until his confirmation to the Sixth Circuit.
Sixth Circuit nomination and confirmation
On November 8, 2001, McKeague was nominated by President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Kentucky* Western District of Kentucky...
vacated by the Judge Richard Fred Suhrheinrich
Richard Fred Suhrheinrich
Richard Fred Suhrheinrich is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit serving in Lansing, Michigan.Born in Lincoln City, Indiana, Suhrheinrich earned his Bachelor of Science in 1960 from Wayne State University, his Juris Doctor with honors in 1963 from the Detroit...
, who had taken senior status
Senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...
the previous summer. On the same day, Bush also nominated Henry Saad
Henry Saad
Henry William Saad is a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was born in Detroit, Michigan.-Background:...
and Susan Bieke Neilson
Susan Bieke Neilson
Susan Bieke Neilson was a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and before that, a state trial judge in Michigan.- Background :...
to Michigan seats on the Sixth Circuit. On June 26, 2002, Bush nominated Richard Allen Griffin
Richard Allen Griffin
Richard Allen Griffin is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Previously, he was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.- Background :...
to a fourth Michigan seat on the Sixth Circuit. During the Democrat-controlled 107th Congress, all four nominations were stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee by then chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...
, D-VT.
In the 2002 midterm congressional elections, the Republicans regained control of the Senate. During the new 108th Congress, Senator Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...
, R-UT, the new Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee began to process the previously blocked four nominees. In March 2003, Michigan's two Democratic senators, Carl Levin
Carl Levin
Carl Milton Levin is a Jewish-American United States Senator from Michigan, serving since 1979. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
and Debbie Stabenow
Debbie Stabenow
Deborah Ann Greer "Debbie" Stabenow is the junior United States Senator from Michigan and a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to the U.S. Senate, she was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 8th congressional district from 1997 to 2001...
announced that they would blue-slip all Bush judicial nominees from Michigan because Bush refused to renominate Helene White
Helene White
Helene N. White is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Previously, she was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.- Background :...
and Kathleen McCree Lewis
Kathleen McCree Lewis
Kathleen McCree Lewis was an American lawyer and former federal judicial nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.- Early life and education :Lewis was born in Boston...
, two Michigan nominees to the Sixth Circuit whose nominations the Senate Republicans had refused to process during President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's second term. Helene White at the time was married to Levin's cousin.
Contrary to Levin's and Stabenow's wishes, Hatch gave Saad, McKeague and Griffin committee hearings, and passed the three nominees out of committee. Furious, Levin and Stabenow convinced their caucus to filibuster the three in order to prevent them from having confirmation votes.
The Senate Republicans increased their numbers in the 109th Congress. Tensions between the Republicans and Democrats rose dramatically as the Republicans sought to break the filibusters of ten Bush court of appeals nominees (including Saad, McKeague and Griffin) by using the nuclear option
Nuclear option
In U.S. politics, the "nuclear option" allows the United States Senate to reinterpret a procedural rule by invoking the argument that the Constitution requires that the will of the majority be effective on specific Senate duties and procedures...
. In order to defuse the explosive situation concerning the use of the nuclear option and Democrats' obstruction of President Bush's judicial nominations
George W. Bush judicial appointment controversies
During President George W. Bush's two term tenure in office, he nominated thirty-nine people for twenty-seven different federal appellate judgeships that were blocked by the Senate Democrats either directly in the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the full Senate floor using a filibuster....
, fourteen moderate Republican and Democratic senators called the Gang of 14
Gang of 14
The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
joined together to forge an agreement to guarantee certain filibustered nominations up or down votes. Henry Saad and William Myers, however, were expressly excluded from the guarantee.
Following the 2005 Gang of 14
Gang of 14
The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
compromise, McKeague was given a vote along with fellow Sixth Circuit nominee Richard Allen Griffin
Richard Allen Griffin
Richard Allen Griffin is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Previously, he was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.- Background :...
. Both Levin and Stabenow ultimately voted in favor of McKeague on June 9, 2005 when he was confirmed by the full U.S. Senate 96-0. McKeague was the fifth judge nominated to the Sixth Circuit by Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
See also
- Bill Clinton judicial appointment controversies
- George W. Bush judicial appointment controversiesGeorge W. Bush judicial appointment controversiesDuring President George W. Bush's two term tenure in office, he nominated thirty-nine people for twenty-seven different federal appellate judgeships that were blocked by the Senate Democrats either directly in the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the full Senate floor using a filibuster....
- filibuster
- cloture
- nuclear optionNuclear optionIn U.S. politics, the "nuclear option" allows the United States Senate to reinterpret a procedural rule by invoking the argument that the Constitution requires that the will of the majority be effective on specific Senate duties and procedures...
- Gang of 14Gang of 14The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...