U.S. Senate confirms Florida lawyer to lifetime federal judgeship
The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Aileen Cannon to serve as a federal district court judge for the Southern District of Florida, continuing the Trump administration’s trend of nominating young attorneys to lifetime positions on the federal bench.
Cannon, a 39-year-old assistant U.S. attorney based in Fort Pierce, was confirmed on a 56-21 vote, with 12 Democrats joining 44 Republicans to vote in favor, including Florida Republicans Rick Scott and Marco Rubio. Due to the post-election lame-duck session, 23 senators skipped the vote.
Cannon’s nomination was considered relatively uncontroversial. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which recently approved Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination without Democrats present for the vote, reported Cannon’s nomination favorably on a 16-6 vote.
“Ms. Cannon is a highly qualified individual, and I am confident that she will serve Florida’s Southern District honorably,” Rubio said in a statement.
Cannon has worked in the U.S. attorney’s office since 2013 and previously spent three years in private practice. Her total legal experience just passes the minimum 12-year threshold that the American Bar Association requires for federal judicial nominees to receive a “qualified” rating.
“I think she’s a well-qualified, mainstream nominee,” said University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias, who tracks federal court nominations. “Assistant U.S. attorneys know their way around the courtroom. Generally, the U.S. Senate looks favorably on those kind of nominees. There have been a lot of party-line votes. Her vote was pretty strong given the current state of acrimony.”
Rubio’s other pick for a federal judgeship in South Florida, David Leibowitz, isn’t likely to move forward, according to sources familiar with the once-planned nomination. Leibowitz, an attorney, is the nephew of car magnate and Rubio donor Norman Braman.
Tobias said Rubio and Scott deserve credit for filling all but one of the federal vacancies in the Southern District of Florida, which stretches from the Treasure Coast to Miami. He said the district is one of the busiest in the country and likely faces a backlog of cases due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cannon’s nomination continues a trend for the Republican-held U.S. Senate under Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. As coronavirus cases spike nationwide, McConnell has shown little willingness to negotiate with Democrats on a second relief package. After Cannon’s confirmation vote, McConnell announced five more federal judicial nominees will likely receive a vote next week and Republicans are focused on winning two runoff elections in Georgia that will determine party control of the Senate.
“The Democrats can legitimately say, ‘Where are [the Republicans’] priorities?’” Tobias said. “They’re correct to say people are dying and the Senate’s not doing anything. McConnell won’t budge and the president is missing in action. I think that’s what we’ll see right up until Jan. 3 and probably until after the Georgia results are decided.”
Miami Herald reporter Jay Weaver contributed to this report.
