Let’s keep the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission

There have been rumblings about disbanding the bipartisan Federal Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC), given the recent election of Republican Sen. Rick Scott.

As a result, Florida now has two Republican U.S. Senators, and can now reach a consensus.

But we have seen that elected officials, even from the same party, can disagree; therefore, why not leave the JNC in place to take the legwork off the busy senators’ hands?

The Southern District Federal Judicial Nominating Commission is one of three in Florida and is comprised of 35 members, mostly lawyers. A majority of the membership is held by Republican appointees such as myself.

Though far from perfect, the commission produced a list of 10 highly qualified candidates for the federal bench to fill five vacancies when it last convened late in 2017.

Eventually, President Trump nominated just three of those outstanding candidates for Senate confirmation. The rigorous interview and vetting process and spirited disagreements among the JNC commissioners contributed greatly to the quality of the final recommendations and the president’s nominees.

In the end, both Republican Senators will have to agree on whom they prefer among the finalists.

The senators retain the power to forward and recommend only those individuals whose qualifications and philosophies are consistent with their principles.

As always, the senators can change the composition of the JNC upon mutual agreement at any time.

However, elimination of the JNC all together would make these nominations less transparent and could produce potentially embarrassing results if nominees aren’t sufficiently vetted.

We should keep the Federal JNC. The process is a win-win for the senators and the public, who rely on a fair and qualified federal judiciary.