[JURIST] US President George Bush on Wednesday renominated [WH list] six candidates for federal appeals court judgeships, at least four of whom Democrats have already rejected [JURIST report]. Senate rules [text] require nominations to be resubmitted after a recess longer than 30 days, and the judicial nominations [JURIST news archive] will expire if not approved during the current lame-duck session of Congress. When Congress reconvenes in January, new nominees will face a Senate Democratic majority.

Democratic senators see the President's actions as a reversal of his recent promise for bipartisanship in the wake of the mid-term elections. US Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website], expected to take over as Judiciary Committee chairman, expressed his disappointment [press release] Wednesday:

With these renominations, the President is choosing partisanship over progress and division over unity, at the expense of a fair and independent judiciary. This is exactly the kind of political game-playing that prompted Americans to demand change and a new direction in Washington. The signal the President is sending by renominating these controversial candidates is regrettable. But I hope the President will work with us in charting a new direction in the next congressional session, by choosing consensus nominees who unite instead of divide America.