Judicial appointments and nominations

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2017 file photo California Supreme Court Associate Justice Goodwin Liu pauses in his office in San Francisco. The California Supreme Court justice says the death penalty system in the most populous state is dysfunctional, expensive and doesn't deliver justice in a timely way. Liu made the comments in an unusual opinion issued Thursday, March 28, 2019, after the full court unanimously upheld Thomas Potts' death sentence. Potts was convicted in a 1997 killing of an elderly couple. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

FILE - In this July 9, 2018, file photo, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill speaks during a news conference at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission is accusing state Attorney General Curtis Hill of professional misconduct following allegations he drunkenly groped a female lawmaker and three female legislative staffers at a bar. A disciplinary complaint filed Tuesday, March 19, 2019 says Hill committed misdemeanor battery against all four women and felony sexual battery against one of them. A special prosecutor declined in October to pursue criminal charges against Hill, who has denied wrongdoing. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks to local residents during a meet and greet at the Beancounter Coffeehouse & Drinkery, Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Burlington, Iowa. O'Rourke announced Thursday that he'll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2017 file photo, Neomi Rao, President Donald Trump's nominee for a seat on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to advance President Donald Trump's nominee to replace Brett Kavanaugh on a high-profile appeals court. The committee voted 12-10 along party lines Thursday to endorse Neomi Rao for a seat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Brett Busby, appointed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to fill a vacancy on the Texas Supreme Court, attends his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, March 7, 2019, in Austin, Texas. Barely three months after Texas Democrats showed signs of cracking Republican dominance in Texas elections, Abbott is using the power of his office to stem that tide by appointing Republican judges who had been rejected by voters to new positions on the bench. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit, Friday, March 1, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2017 file photo, Neomi Rao, President Donald Trump's nominee for a seat on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to advance President Donald Trump's nominee to replace Brett Kavanaugh on a high-profile appeals court. The committee voted 12-10 along party lines Thursday to endorse Neomi Rao for a seat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)