Texas Dems call for bold Obama immigration order; Cornyn denounces plan

WASHINGTON– Amid reports that the president is preparing to shield millions of immigrants from deportation with an executive order, Texas Democrats called for bold, swift and decisive action from the White House. And Texas Republicans seethed.

“I can’t think of anything more discouraging that the president of the United States could do than … threaten to issue this executive amnesty order, which disregards the law and the balance of powers in the Constitution,” Sen. John Cornyn, the deputy GOP leader, told reporters.

Fox News reported today that the president is preparing a 10-point plan he will issue as soon as Nov. 21 that would confer amnesty on upwards of 4.5 million people. The New York Times reports that his plan would shield from deportation more than 5 million people in the country illegally. The White House has publicly denied that the president –who is in Burma today – has finalized any plans.

Republican have warned against any such executive action, and many reacted angrily on Thursday.

Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn, right, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, speaking with reporters on Thursday. (AP/Susan Walsh)

Last week, Sen. Ted Cruz and five GOP colleagues warnes the outgoing majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., that a “lawless amnesty” issued by the president would trigger a “constitutional crisis.” And they threatened to use “all procedural means necessary” to thwart such action.

But House Democrats, including the party’s top leaders and a number of Texans, on Thursday defended Obama’s assertion of authority to issue sweeping executive orders. At a 90-minute news conference, they urged him to protect as many of the 11 million people in the country illegally as possible – though they conceded they hadn’t been briefed on the plans leaked hours earlier to Fox and The Times.

“If Lincoln can sign the Emancipation Proclamation, if Truman could sign the order desegregating the military, I believe that President Obama can sign DACA, expanding opportunities for persons who are living in the shadows of life,” said Rep. Al Green, D-Houston. “There are many who are going to be angry. I don’t think God is going to be angry.”

“The time is now for the president to take executive action,” said Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth.

“There’s just so much fear around this issue,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin. “It’s not numbers. It’s human beings.”

Cornyn called it unfair for the president to “essentially bump” all the people who play by the rules and immigrate to this country legally.

“But at least I hope the president would give us an adequate time to be able to work together to try to begin to build a bipartisan consensus on repairing our broken immigration system. But if he does that, it’s going to make it much harder, not easier,” he said.

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., the Democrats’ point person on immigration, rejected that argument. Republicans have had plenty of time to embrace reform, he said. Delaying the order until after last week’s elections didn’t yield Obama the political benefits he’d hoped for, he said, so waiting any longer isn’t justified.

“He lost the Senate,” Gutiérrez said.

“We’re going to fight the president tooth and nail if he continues down this path,” said Speaker John Boehner. “All options are on the table.”

Cornyn formally elected Senate GOP whip; Cruz enthusiastic …about GOP majority

From left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas., and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., leave a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans at the Capitol on Thursday. (AP/Susan Walsh)

updated 12:20 with comments from Sens. Cruz and Thune.

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans formally reelected Texas Sen. John Cornyn as GOP whip. In the new Senate that makes him deputy majority leader.

The vote was by acclamation. Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania,  a conservative, nominated Cornyn. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate, seconded the nomination, and both delivered speeches for him in the closed door meeting of Senate Republicans.

“I’m humbled to have been chosen by my colleagues to help lead the new majority in the U.S. Senate, and I pledge that those fundamental Texas values of personal liberty and limited government will continue to be my guide,” Cornyn said in a statement.

“After years of gridlock and dysfunction in the Senate the work before us is considerable, but Republicans approach this opportunity with determination, with humility, and above all with a firm commitment to address the top priorities of the American people.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell was elected unanimously,  as well. He will serve as majority leader in the new Senate.

Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas tea partier who has tangled with GOP leaders, went with the flow at Thursday’s meeting, which lasted nearly three hours.

“The new leadership team is essentially the same as the old leadership team. The results were unsurprising. The top leadership positions were all uncontested and elected by acclamation,” Cruz said as he left the meeting.

Asked if he’s enthusiastic to see McConnell and Cornyn continue leading the Senate GOP, Cruz responded: “I am enthusiastic about Republicans being in the majority and now having the opportunity to lead.

“And if we simply do what we said we would do and lead with a bold positive agenda – pro-jobs, pro-growth, defending the constitutional rights of the citizenry – it will make a serious and a real difference for the country. And I am optimistic and hopeful that Republicans will do just that,” he said.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota– reelected to his post as GOP conference chairman – said all the elections went “fairly smoothly.” Downplaying the idea that Cruz or others might continue to give headaches to leadership, he said he doesn’t sense much tension among Senate Republicans.

“We’re still new to this. We’re going to be a majority. We know that in order for us to succeed we’re going to have to function as a team and I think that gives you a renewed sense of purpose. Those things tend to be more evident in the minority, but in the majority – for sure we’re going to have disagreements. We have different folks who come from different places and have different views on issues,” he told reporters. “But when it comes to being successful in terms of trying to move an agenda I think we all recognize we have to work together as a team.”

Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire nominated McConnell. Sen.-elect Tom Cotton of Arkansas gave a seconding speech. Thune was nominated by Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia and seconded by Sen.-elect Cory Gardner of Colorado.

In the only contested GOP race, Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker beat Nevada Sen. Dean Heller to become the new chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Cornyn held that job for four years. Wicker’s challenge will be to defend the new 54-seat majority, in a year in which far more GOP-held seats are on the line.

3 Texas judicial nominees likely won’t get committee vote Thursday

Robert L. Pitman, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, speaks during a news conference June 4 in Midland. (AP Photo/Odessa American, Courtney Sacco)

WASHINGTON — Three candidates for federal judgeships in Texas aren’t likely to get a committee vote Thursday, giving the Senate less time to approve the nominations by the end of the year.

Under Senate rules, any Judiciary Committee member can postpone the vote by one week, a move Republicans have traditionally used for judicial nominees. Once a nominee clears that hurdle, the full Senate would vote on confirmation for U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman of San Antonio, Texarkana lawyer Robert Schroeder III, and Sherman Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant III.

“Standard protocol would be for them to be held over to the next business meeting,” said Beth Levine, a spokeswoman for Republicans on the committee. Democrats control the committee and Senate only until early January, when the new Congress is sworn in.

Confirmation requires a majority of votes in the Senate. At a committee hearing in September, Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz publicly backed the trio of Texas nominees, whom they had jointly recommended to the White House.

On Tuesday, a Cornyn aide reiterated the senator’s support. Both Texas senators sit on the Judiciary Committee. President Barack Obama announced the nominations in June.

It’s unclear whether the full Senate will vote to confirm the nominees by the end of the year, Levine said.

Democrats will likely try to move as many nominees as they can before Republicans take over, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond who tracks judicial nominations.

The handover in power means Republicans have less incentive to act quickly.

“They’re not in a hurry because they’re going to take over,” he said, “and then they can run the whole show.”

The seat Pitman is up for has been vacant since the end of 2008. Pitman would become Texas’ first openly gay federal judge.

Mazzant, a federal magistrate judge in Sherman, would fill a post in Marshall. Schroeder, a partner at the law firm Patton, Tidwell, Schroeder & Culbertson, is up for a position in Texarkana.

Obama breaks bread (and ice) with Cornyn and other congressional leaders

President Obama meets over lunch with Congressional leaders in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House on Friday. From left are House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. (AP/Evan Vucci)

update 2:20

After the meeting, Cornyn said he used the rare face-to-face encounter with the president to press his view that so-called comprehensive immigration reform is doomed. Only a piecemeal approach has a chance to enactment, he said — and Obama would make cooperation difficult if he issues executive orders conferring legal status on people in the country without permission. His full statement:

“The American people sent a strong message Tuesday that they want Washington to work together, and I made clear to the President that we should tackle immigration reform together on a step-by-step basis, beginning with border security and respect for the rule of law.

“Unfortunately the President’s promise to unilaterally go around Congress ignores the message voters sent on Election Day. It is my sincere hope that he will reverse course and work with us – not around us – to secure the border and achieve real reforms to our immigration system.”

update 2pm

The congressional leaders left the White House without speaking with reporters.

original post

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn is at the White House, joining other congressional leaders for an intimate lunch with President Obama that may or may not clear the air, set a new tone, and end the gridlock.

The menu, apart from some humble pie for the Democrats:

Bibb Lettuce, Frisee and Endive
Heirloom Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Toasted Shallot Dressing

Herb Crusted Sea Bass, Tomato-Lemon Confit Grilled Vegetables

Pumpkin Tart
Vanilla Whipped Cream
Candied Ginger

Cornyn was seated across from the president, who spoke with reporters for a few minutes before lunch was served. Speaker John Boehner, his majority padded to levels Republican haven’t enjoyed in decades, sat to Obama’s right. To the president’s left: Sen. Harry Reid, whom voters stripped of his title as majority leader on Tuesday night in a huge GOP sweep. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader poised to take Reid’s job when the lame duck Congress ends and the new one is sworn in in early January, sat on the other side of Reid.

Cornyn is the deputy GOP leader and will become the second most powerful member of the Senate.

“What we’ve seen now for a number of cycles is that the American people just want to see work done here in Washington. They get frustrated by the gridlock. They’d like to see more cooperation. All of us have the responsibility, me in particular, to try to make that happen,” Obama said. “This gives us a good opportunity to explore where we can make progress on behalf of the people who sent us here.”

Water glasses in front of the president and his guests were filled. Wine glasses were empty, and there was no sign yet of lunch on the elegant green-and-white chinaware adorned with the presidential seal. Nor was there any Kentucky bourbon in sight; the Obama-McConnell bourbon summit will wait for another day.

The venue was the Old Family Dining Room. We’ll let you know if these were old dishes.

Obama said he’s committed to Boehner and McConnell that “I am not going to judge ideas based on whether they are Democratic or Republican. I’m going to be judging them based on whether or not they work. And I’m confident that they want to produce results as well on behalf of the American people.”

Cornyn’s expectations heading into the lunch were… low.

 

Boehner warned Thursday that Obama would make a huge error by issuing executive orders granting amnesty to anyone in the country illegally. “He will poison the well and there will be no chance for immigration reform” in the new Congress, he said. “When you play with matches, you take the risk of burning yourself.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest, briefing reporters as the lunch began, reiterated the president’s intention to issue such orders as promised, but Obama made no mention of immigration — at least not at the outset of the lunch, with cameras and reporters on hand.

update: GOP wins Senate as Sen. John Cornyn cruises to 3d term

Sen. John Cornyn speaks with Steve Munisteri, Texas GOP chairman, during an Election Day visit to party headquarters in Austin. (AP/Tamir Kalifa)

update 10:30

North Carolina has put Republicans over the top. They will control the Senate, thanks to victory by state House Speaker Thom Tillis. He has ousted Sen. Kay Hagan in the costliest Senate race of the year.

Moments later, AP has called Iowa for tea partier Joni Ernst. The GOP majority stands at 52 and potentially climbing.

update 10:08pm

Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican, has survived. With that, Republicans now stand at 50 seats. They need one more to claim the majority in the 114th Congress.

update 9:40pm

Republican David Perdue has won the open Senate seat in Georgia — one of the few potential bright spots and firewalls tonight for Democrats. He beat Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn. That keeps the Georgia seat in GOP hands after the retirement of Sen. Saxby Chambliss, quashing Democrats’ best hope of flipping a seat.

“We couldn’t be happier with what’s been happening around the country,” RNC chairman Reince Priebus told reporters moments ago.

 

update 8:55pm

Louisiana’s Senate race is headed to a Dec. 6 runoff between three-term Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu and GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy. Neither topped the 50 percent needed to win.

In Colorado, GOP Rep. Cory Gardner is leading Sen. Mark Udall by a wide margin and Fox News has already called him the winner.

That puts Republicans two seats away from a majority.

update 8pm

Just in from the White House: the president has invited the House and Senate leaders from both parties to the White House for a meeting on Friday. Presumably that would be to clear the air and try to set a tone going forward.

Also, no surprise, Cornyn has been declared the winner in Texas.

And in New Hampshire, Democrats have claimed victory for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen over Scott Brown, a former senator from Massachusetts. That won’t be enough, by itself, to stave off a Republican takeover. But GOP victory there would have signaled near-certainty of that.

update 7:40pm

Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas is the first night’s first Democratic casualty. Rep. Tom Cotton has defeated him. No surprises so far as Republicans close in on their magic 51. McConnell’s victory in Kentucky looked iffy a few months ago but he’d been pulling ahead.

original post

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn is heavily favored to win a third term tonight. The suspense for him is whether he’ll remain deputy leader of the Senate minority — or whether he’ll get a promotion to deputy leader of the majority.

That depends on whether Republicans can pick up enough seats around the country to tip control of the Senate. Control hinges on the 10 tightest contests, in North Carolina, Iowa, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Alaska and Arkansas.

Kentucky is especially relevant to Cornyn. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — projected to win his race the moment polls closed — would replace Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., as majority leader if Republicans wrest control of the Senate.

Control of the Senate has far-reaching implications — for Cornyn, his fellow Republicans, and for President Obama and his agenda.

Democratic challenger David Alameel on Oct. 21. (LM Otero/AP)

In his own race in Texas, Cornyn never broke a sweat this fall. That left him plenty of time and money to help with the Texas Republicans’ voter targeting efforts, and trying to elect more Senate Republicans around the country.

His own challenger David Alameel, a Dallas investor, had never run statewide before. He collected hardly any donations for the effort to topple Cornyn, and didn’t spend nearly as lavishly as some Democrats had hoped, from a personal fortune estimated at $50 million. At last count Alameel pumped about $5.5 million into the campaign — only $1 million more than he spent on a failed congressional primary bid two years ago, his only previous bid for office.

Cornyn, eager for change in the new Senate, raised more than $14 million — a bargain compared to more hard-fought races elsewhere.

Spending this fall has hit staggering levels, commensurate with the high stakes.

The five most contested Senate races – North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky and Georgia — each commanded upwards of $65 million in totally outlays by candidates, parties and outside groups.

In North Carolina, where Republican Thom Tillis was trying to oust Sen. Kay Hagan, spending hit $108 million.

Nationwide, outside groups have poured more than $771 million into Senate races, according to the Sunlight Foundation, a watchdog group. Nearly half of that has come in the last three weeks, fueling a deluge of attack ads from Alaska to Georgia.

The spigots may stay open in Louisiana and Georgia, where the winner needs to top 50 percent and runoffs were viewed as likely. Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, would face a runoff Dec. 6. In Georgia, Republican businessman David Perdue would face Democrat Michelle Nunn in a runoff Jan. 6 – three days after the new Congress is sworn in.

Texas Republicans raise concerns about federal Ebola response

Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, center, and GOP lawmakers speak to reporters after a Republican caucus meeting, at the Capitol in Washington on May 6, 2014. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

updated at 3:51 p.m. with comment from HHS.

WASHINGTON — Texas Republicans are demanding answers from the Health and Human Services Administration about how existing public resources were used to combat the Ebola outbreak.

In a letter sent Friday, Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz — joined by all 24 Texas Republicans in the U.S. House — raise concerns that new Ebola cases emerged on U.S. soil despite the department’s funding for public health crises.

According to the letter, a 2013 law gave nearly $1.4 billion to “public health preparedness and response activities,” part of it to support efforts in Dallas and other metropolitan cities.

“[I]t is especially troubling to witness the federal government’s communications missteps and confusion about protocols knowing that a wide range of federal resources have already been in place for years,” the lawmakers write.

In a statement Friday afternoon, HHS said it looks forward to responding to the letter.

“HHS values working with members of Congress on this important public health matter,” spokesman Bill Hall said.

National Ebola protocols came under scrutiny after two Dallas health care workers contracted the disease while treating an Ebola patient. The patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, died but the two nurses, Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, have been declared Ebola-free.

Labeling Dallas “ground zero” for the first Ebola case, the Texas lawmakers say it’s necessary to understand how the U.S. government has applied its resources before charting a path forward.

In their letter, they tick through a number of requests to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, including an explanation of how policies under a 2006 law are helping to contain and treat the disease.

That law created the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, a position whose responsibilities Texas lawmakers also want detailed.

Cornyn and Alameel spar over immigration, marriage, abortion in Senate debate

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, left, and Democratic challenger David Alameel greet each other at the start of their debate at Mountain View College campus in Dallas tonight. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Cornyn portrayed himself Friday night as an agent of change in Washington, as rival David Alameel blasted him for blocking immigration reforms while kowtowing to Wall Street.

This was the first and only debate of the contest, as Cornyn seeks a third term and Alameel claws for traction.

With Univision as the debate host, a hefty chunk of the questioning was aimed at immigration policy – an area of especially clear disagreement.

Cornyn, who has long resisted legalization for the 11 million people in the country illegally, called himself a “strong supporter of immigration reform.”  He agreed that young people brought to the country illegally by their parents – the so-called “Dreamers” – should be eligible for college aid.

But he called it politically impossible to pass a so-called “comprehensive” overhaul, and argued for taking smaller steps with broader support.

“I wouldn’t hold my breath for Republicans to offer you any immigration reform,” Alameel said.

The vast majority of immigrants have been in this country for years, breaking no laws and working hard. They “deserve a path to citizenship,” he said.

Cornyn proposed a flexible cap on immigrant visas, fluctuating with the U.S. economy and needs of employers.

“Of course we need to increase quotas” Alameel shot back, adding that this sidestepped the core issue, citizenship. Without that, he said, “It will take us a hundred years to give the relief that our Latino community deserves.”

The debate, at Mountain View College in Dallas, offered Alameel a rare shot at making headway against an incumbent with a huge edge in name identification and fund-raising. He labeled Cornyn a “do nothing senator. Our country burns while Cornyn fiddles.”

These and other barbs may not be seen widely enough to make much difference. The Dallas Univision station and Texas Tribune streamed the debate live online. Univision viewers can watch the debate in Spanish on Saturday night. C-Span will broadcast it Wednesday night in English.

Cornyn, the No. 2 GOP leader in the Senate, portrayed Alameel as a potential reinforcement for Democrats in the final two years of the Obama administration.

“What we need is new leadership and a new direction. We don’t need people who will go to Washington and support the status quo—the obstruction of the majority leader and the policies of the president,” Cornyn said.

Alameel asserted that Wall Street interests control the Republican Party and “John Cornyn is one of the leaders of that establishment, who only care about themselves….He’s turning our country into a minimum wage nation and we say enough is enough.”

They disagreed on a host of issues.

Cornyn called it “dangerous” to make marijuana legal, even for medical purposes. Alameel argued for full decriminalization. “Having prohibition didn’t work,” he said.

Cornyn reiterated his dim view of the Affordable Care Act. Alameel called Obamacare “a good step in the right direction” and argued that “Republicans have to stop saying no” and should work to improve it.

Both rivals called it a bad idea to make English the nation’s official language, though unlike Cornyn, Alameel said government documents should be offered in a variety of languages to ensure that people who haven’t learned English aren’t “abandoned.”

On the Ebola crisis, Alameel agreed with calls coming mostly from Republicans in Congress – and a few Democrats – for a travel ban on West Africa. “Yes,” he said, “we need to restrict flying. In any epidemic you have to restrict the flow in and out of that affected area.”

Both noted the lack of preparedness by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

“There was no leadership from the White House and from the federal government,” Cornyn said.

Alameel also worries about lack of preparations.  ”If we have an epidemic, the first nine patients will be taken care of, and the other 100,000 will die,” he said.

Alameel was asked about the $15,000 or so he donated to Cornyn a decade ago.

“This is one terrible mistake I have to live with,” he said.

Cornyn wasn’t about to let his rival off the hook so easily. “He was an enthusiastic supporter of mine and Gov. Perry… and Republicans up and down the ticket.” he said.

On the president’s handling of the Islamic State terror group, Cornyn blasted the refusal to put American “boots on the ground.” Alameel lauded the president for bombing ISIS but warned that “we don’t need to create another big war.”

Social issues offered more bright lines.

Cornyn defended Texas’ tough law imposing requirements that forced most of the state’s abortion clinics to close. Alameel said that as a Catholic he doesn’t believe in abortion but wants them to be legal and available.

On same-sex marriage, Cornyn said that “I am pro-traditional marriage” and wants the federal government to respect Texas’ views that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

Said Alameel, “We should move on from these divisive issues.”

Staff writer Michael Marks contribute to this report.

Cornyn widens financial lead, with $14.1 million raised for reelection

Sen. John Cornyn speaks at the fourth annual Texas Tribune Festival at the University of Texas on Sept. 20, 2014, in Austin. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Rodolfo Gonzalez)

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Cornyn has widened his already commanding financial lead over challenger David Alameel.

The two-term Republican has raised $14.1 million through the end of September, including just over $1 million raised during the previous three months, according to his latest campaign finance filing.

He has $3.9 million cash on hand ready for a final push, if needed. But he’s already way ahead of Alameel both in polls and in financial resources.

Alameel raised a mere $24,000 in the last three months, though the Dallas investor and dentist had long ago abandoned the idea of running a campaign on other people’s money. He recently loaned another $475,000 in personal loans, bringing the campaign’s outstanding debt to him to $1.2 million. Alameel has now put $5.5 million into the race — nearly everything his campaign has spent.

Cornyn’s quarterly report just became available this afternoon at the Senate. Other federal candidates – those running for U.S. House and for president – file electronically to the Federal Election Commission, where records are searchable online. But the Senate has clung to old-fashioned methods.

 

 

C-Span will air Cornyn-Alameel Senate debate Wednesday night (*in English)

updated 5pm:

C-Span has confirmed the time: The Texas Senate debate will air at 9pm CT on Wednesday, Oct. 29.

updated 1pm:

The debate will be live-streamed online by Univision Dallas and by Texas Tribune, according to Cornyn campaign manager Brendan Steinhauser.

original post:

WASHINGTON — Texas voters who don’t speak Spanish will get to hear Sen. John Cornyn’s only debate with challenger David Alameel after all.

C-Span now plans to broadcast the debate on Tuesday, according to the cable network’s press shop.

Cornyn and Alameel will debate Friday night in Dallas, at Mountain View College Performance Hall. Univision is the sponsor, and its stations in Texas will broadcast the debate Saturday night in Spanish.

Cornyn advisers and Univision officials say Univision is working to live-stream the debate. We’ll keep you posted if that comes together.

Cornyn is seeking a third 6-year term. He is the deputy GOP Senate leader.

Texas judicial nominees could get Senate committee vote in November

Robert L. Pitman, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, speaks at a news conference June 4 in Midland. (AP Photo/Odessa American, Courtney Sacco)

WASHINGTON — A Senate committee could vote as early as Nov. 13 on three nominees for lifetime appointments as federal judges in Texas.

That’s the final step before the full Senate decides whether to confirm U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman of San Antonio, Texarkana lawyer Robert Schroeder III, and Sherman Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant III.

Unless Republicans object, the Judiciary Committee plans to hold the vote when it meets for the first time after the November elections. Under Senate rules, any committee member can postpone the vote by one week.

The Senate vote could come by the end of the year, depending on the timing of committee action.

To be confirmed, a majority of senators must approve of the picks.

At a Judiciary Committee hearing last month, Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz praised the nominees and their qualifications. Both Texas Republicans sit on the committee.

“Each of these three nominees are lawyers of the highest caliber and the kinds of individuals who should serve on the federal bench,” Cornyn said.

President Barack Obama announced the nominations in June, after Cornyn and Cruz recommended them to the White House.

The seat Pitman would hold in San Antonio has been vacant the longest, since the end of 2008. He Pitman would become the state’s first openly gay judge in Texas.

Mazzant would fill a seat in Marshall. Schroeder, a partner at the law firm Patton, Tidwell, Schroeder & Culbertson, is up for a post in Texarkana.