Caitlin Halligan, the general counsel in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, won a committee vote yesterday in her bid for a spot on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, but Senate Republicans made it clear they are planning a fight based in part on gun rights. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-8 along party lines to endorse Ms. Halligan’s nomination and send it to the full Senate. President Barack Obama nominated Ms. Halligan in September, choosing her for an influential court known as a training ground for potential Supreme Court nominees.
Republicans had not previously said how they would vote on Ms. Halligan’s nomination. But Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the committee’s ranking Republican, read a long speech before the vote criticizing Ms. Halligan’s record and questioning the need for another judge on the D.C. Circuit.
