Sen. Rubio blocks nomination of openly gay federal judge

Washington, D.C. –  President Obama is giving up on his attempt to confirm Judge William Thomas to a federal bench in South Florida, which would have made Thomas the first openly gay black federal judge.

Sen. Marco Rubio blocked the appointment, despite the fact that he supported Thomas’ initial nomination in November of 2012.

The White House resubmitted about 200 nominees to the Senate at the beginning of this year, and Thomas’ name was missing from the list.

According to the Huffington Post, an administration official has confirmed that Thomas won’t be resubmitted, and that is because Sen. Rubio made his objection to the nomination clear.

Rubio interviewed Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge William Thomas and supported President Obama’s nomination of him. Nominees must secure the approval of both U.S. senators in their home state, and Sen. Bill Nelson offered his approval.

The Federal Judicial Nominating Commission then officially recommended Judge Thomas to become a Federal District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida.

But in September of 2013, Rubio changed his mind and blocked confirmation hearings for Judge Thomas.

Rubio’s press secretary, Brooke Sammon, told the Daily Business Review Sept. 19 that the senator “blocked Judge Thomas’ confirmation because Rubio has questions about his judicial temperament and his willingness to impose appropriate criminal sentences.”

Sammon cited two instances that Rubio decided raised serious concerns about his fitness for a lifetime federal appointment. In the first instance, Judge Thomas wept while giving an account of a brutal kidnapping, gang rape and murder at the killer’s sentencing in January. Despite the death sentence imposed on the killer, Judge Thomas added three life sentences.

In the second instance, Rubio’s office cited the case of a hit-and-run driver in Miami that killed a cyclist. To correct any misconceptions about Judge Thomas’ sentencing in that case, the chief administrative judge for the criminal court sent a letter to Rubio’s office on Thomas’ behalf, to no avail.

This particular Florida judge seat has been vacant for twenty months.

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