UPDATED: Senate Approves McConnell Nomination

UPDATED: Senate Approves McConnell Nomination

The U.S. Senate voted 54 to 44 to approve to the nomination of local attorney Jack McConnell as a judge for U.S. District Court for Rhode Island.

The vote came after the a separate 63 to 33 vote to block a filibuster on the nomination of local attorney Jack McConnell as a judge for U.S. District Court for Rhode Island. The vote effectively paved the way for McConnell to be confirmed as a judge.

A handful of Republicans joined Democrats to end the logjam over the nomination.

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Senator Jack Reed said the vote was less about an individual, and more about “whether the Senate would conduct its business in a time honored tradition.”

“There is a lot of blame to go around ... We’re past that. Let's move on,” Reed added. “This is a really good day for the United States Senate.”

“This was not pre-ordained,” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said. “But today was a day where the institution stood up for itself.”

GoLocalProv Washington Correspondent Steve Peoples contributed to this report.

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