As part of the arrangement, the Senate has approved 10 judges in the past few days without a single dissenting vote. One of them, Albert Diaz, had been awaiting confirmation to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond since clearing the Judiciary Committee in January.
The agreement was worked out between Senate majority leader Harry Reid and his Republican counterpart, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, with the knowledge of the White House, officials said. Spokesmen for the two Senate leaders declined to comment.
In the talks, Reid also pushed for confirmation for James Cole, whom Obama picked last spring for the number two post in the Justice Department. His nomination to be deputy attorney general is opposed by Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, and its fate is unclear.
Officials described the maneuvering on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss private conversations.
Judicial nominations have become intensely political in recent years as presidents seek approval for nominees who frequently spark opposition from outside interest groups aligned with the opposing party as well as from senators themselves.
Democrats filibustered several of President George W. Bush’s conservative nominees, refusing to allow a vote on some for years. The logjam was broken in spring 2005 in a compromise that allowed some to be confirmed while a smaller number were jettisoned.
More recently, Democrats have accused Republicans of delaying confirmation of even noncontroversial nominees advanced by Obama by refusing to permit them to come to a vote without a time-consuming process than can take three days on the Senate floor.
In remarks during the weekend, Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said 49 circuit and district court nominations made by Obama had been approved so far, “less than half the number confirmed during the first Congress of the Bush administration.’’
