Sri Srinivasan strode confidently into a Senate room April 10 for his confirmation hearing as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He elicited chuckles from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., during prehearing chit-chat. His bipartisan supporters in the room included the two Virginia senators who introduced him, five congressmen and Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr.
But before Srinivasan even got a chance to speak, the hearing devolved into partisan arguments about the speed of judicial nominations in general. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the top Republican on the committee, used his opening statement to announce a bill that would reduce the number of judges on the D.C. Circuit from 11 to eight.
