Dems Complaining Of Slow Judge Confirmations Can 'Put That In Your Pipe And Smoke It,' Says Grassley

After Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to call the pace of federal judicial confirmations under Republican leadership “a disgrace,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley told him to “put that in your pipe and smoke it.” Schumer noted that the U.S. judicial vacancy rate is at 10 percent, and 28 districts are considered judicial emergencies. He said that by the second year of President George W. Bush’s second term, the Democratic-led Senate had confirmed 25 judges, compared to just five federal judges under the current Republican Congress. Grassley countered with his own statistic. Thus far under President Barack Obama the Senate has confirmed 317 judicial nominees, compared to 238 at the same point in Bush’s presidency. “Without smoke,” Schumer said, “I yield the floor.”