With 139 presidential nominations awaiting floor action as of midday Monday, the U.S. Senate should remain in session as long as it takes – including through the holiday season – to fill judicial and executive vacancies, Common Cause said today.

“It’s outrageous that senators apparently intend to adjourn for the year on Thursday without acting on dozens of nominees who’ve been vetted in committee and in many cases enjoy strong bipartisan support,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause’s Senior Vice President for Strategy and Programs. “If the Senate shuts down without acting on them this year, these nominees will have to be re-nominated and put through a new review process, most likely with months of additional delay, in the new Congress.”

Hobert Flynn noted that the delays are a personal hardship for the nominees, whose lives essentially are put on hold while they wait for Congress to act. More importantly, the continuing vacancies in key government posts slow or stop the workings of our courts and agencies that provide vital services to the American public or look out for American interests around the world.

The unfilled vacancies include judgeships, ambassadorships, and executive offices charged with protecting health, safety, workers, the environment, and our democracy itself.