President Barack Obama is beginning to take a tougher line with Republican senators who object to his choice of federal judges.

In an apparent first for Obama, this week he announced a new nominee over the objections of the two senators from the nominee’s state. The nomination, of prosecutor Arvo Mikkanen for a judgeship in Oklahoma, is unusual because Obama has been careful to take recommendations from home-state senators, including Republicans, or at least to clear nominees with them.