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Georgia Senators: Obama Won’t Renominate Michael Boggs

Chambliss and Isakson said Obama will not be renominating Boggs. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Chambliss and Isakson said Obama will not be renominating Boggs. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The controversial nomination of Michael P. Boggs to be a federal judge in Georgia is officially kaput.  

Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, the two Republican senators from the Peach State, said in a statement issued late Tuesday that they learned more than a month ago that Boggs’ name would not be submitted again at the start of the 114th Congress for a still-vacant seat on the federal bench. “It is with regret that we announce that the President will not re-nominate Judge Michael Boggs to the United States District Court for a third time. We were informed of the President’s decision by Denis McDonough, the President’s chief of staff, prior to Thanksgiving. We regret the President’s decision, as we have supported Judge Boggs throughout this process and remain steadfast in our support. Judge Boggs has served the state with honor and integrity as an appellate and trial judge, and he has demonstrated a commitment to improving the criminal justice system through his work with the Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Council and Drug Courts,” said Isakson and Chambliss.  

“Throughout the process, Judge Boggs has exhibited enormous restraint and the temperament expected of a jurist. These traits will serve him well for the opportunities we are confident the future holds for Judge Boggs,” they said. “We wish him the best and thank him for his service to the people of Georgia.”  

Chambliss is retiring at the conclusion of the current Congress. He will be succeeded by fellow Republican David Perdue.  

As previously reported, Boggs was nominated by Obama as part of an agreement with the state’s Republican senators for a batch of nominees to advance. The senators had held out hope that Boggs would somehow make the cut in the end-of-session judicial confirmations. But Boggs became wildly contentious, largely thanks to views he espoused and his record as a state legislator between 2001 and 2004.  

The Boggs nomination was effectively dead back in May, the moment when civil rights icon and Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis announced his opposition in a statement.  

“His record is in direct opposition to everything I have stood for during my career, and his misrepresentation of that record to the committee is even more troubling,” Lewis said at the time . “The testimony suggests Boggs may allow his personal political leanings to influence his impartiality on the bench. I do not have a vote in the Senate, but if I did I would vote against the confirmation of Michael Boggs.”  

Humberto Sanchez contributed to this report.

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