Two Biden judicial nominees withdraw from consideration
Spokane County Superior Court Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren in Washington and Colleen Holland of Rochester, N.Y., were not among the White House nominees resubmitted to the Senate on Monday.
A state court judge in Washington state and a law clerk to a federal judge in Rochester, New York, who were both nominated by President Joe Biden to become federal trial court judges have withdrawn their names from further consideration.
Spokane County, Washington, Superior Court Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren and Colleen Holland of Rochester were two of five nominees whose nominations to life-tenured positions on the bench expired at the end of 2023 and were not among 18 nominees the White House resubmitted Monday for further consideration by the Senate.
While the fate of the three others is unclear — Biden could still renominate them at a later date — Bjelkengren and Holland in separate emails to Reuters confirmed they had asked the White House to not resubmit their names to the Democratic-led Senate.
Bjelkengren, who had been tapped to serve in the Eastern District of Washington, had generated Republican opposition after she could not answer questions posed during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January 2023 by Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana about the Constitution.
“I asked the President not to re-nominate me due to the uncertainty of my confirmation, and in order to advance the important work of the federal judiciary,” Bjelkengren said. “My hope is for the swift confirmation of the next nominee.”
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