Judicial appointments and nominations

FILE - In this March 26, 2019 file photo, actor Jussie Smollett smiles and waves to supporters before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped in Chicago. A decision is expected on a motion in federal court Tuesday, Oct. 22 by Smollertt's lawyer asking that the city of Chicago's lawsuit against him requesting costs of investigation be dismissed.(AP Photo/Paul Beaty, File)

FILE - This Aug. 13, 2018 file photo provided by the Pinellas County, Fla., Sheriff's Office shows Michael Drejka. Drejka, of Florida, who told detectives that he was irritated by people who illegally park in handicapped spots will be sentenced Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man outside a convenience store. A jury found him guilty of manslaughter in August. (Pinellas, Fla., County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)

West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Margaret Workman pauses at Boone County Circuit Court in Madison, W.Va., Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. The U.S. Supreme Court is leaving in place a decision that derailed the impeachment trials of three West Virginia Supreme Court justices, including Workman. (AP Photo/John Raby)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., addresses the Kentucky chapters conference of The Federalist Society at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

FILE - In this June 17, 2019 file photo, The Supreme Court is seen in Washington. Abortion rights, and protections for young immigrants and LGBT people top an election-year agenda for the Supreme Court. Its conservative majority will have ample opportunity to flex its muscle, testing Chief Justice John Roberts’ attempts to keep the court clear of Washington partisan politics. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

In this Aug. 23, 2019 photo, former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb takes the oath of special prosecutor before Judge Michael Toomin, during an status hearing concerning actor Jussie Smollett at the Leighton Criminal Court building, in Chicago. The latest twist in the Jussie Smollett saga is the revelation of a possible conflict of interest by the special prosecutor investigating why prosecutors dropped charges accusing the actor of staging a racist, homophobic attack on himself. Dan Webb disclosed this week he once co-hosted a political fundraiser for a figure central to his investigation, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx. A Cook County judge must now decide if bias or the appearance of bias renders Webb's position untenable.(Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)

Secretary of Labor nominee Eugene Scalia speaks during his nomination hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2019 file photo, Justice Neil Gorsuch, speaks during an interview in his chambers at the Supreme Court in Washington. Gorsuch on Friday, Sept. 20, said the conventional wisdom that the court is split along partisan lines based on the political views of the president that appointed each justice is false. Gorsuch spoke about civility at Brigham Young University refuting the notion that judges are just "like politicians with robes." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - In this May 18, 2017 file photo University of California President Janet Napolitano attends a meeting of the UC Board of Regents in San Francisco. Napolitano has announced she plans to step down in August 2020. The former U.S. secretary of homeland security and Democratic governor of Arizona made the announcement Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, at a meeting of the university's Board of Regents. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)