Today, President Bush announced plans to resubmit 20 nominations for lifetime seats on federal courts that were not approved by the Senate, including several Court of Appeals nominations that were blocked by filibuster on the Senate floor. President Bush’s inflammatory announcement comes as the United States heads into the Christmas holiday season.

The Senate has now confirmed 204 of President Bush’s judicial nominees to federal appeals courts and district courts. On a handful of the most controversial nominees, all of whom have extreme records as anti-environmental ideologues, the Senate has refused to cut off debate. A few others have been blocked by objections from home-state Senators.

“Unfortunately, President Bush could not wait until after the holidays to announce a new confrontation in selecting the lifetime members of our third branch of government — our independent judiciary,” said Earthjustice Senior Legislative Counsel Glenn Sugameli. “President Bush is choosing the road to gridlock rather than honoring the Senate’s constitutional advise-and-consent role in selecting members of our third branch of government.”

“In approving over 200 of the President’s judicial nominees, the Senate has proven that it will confirm judges who don’t have records of extreme hostility toward environmental and other fundamental safeguards,” said Sugameli.

For more information on the environmental records of the resubmitted judicial nominees, visit here.