Powerful D.C. Circuit Court has Democratic majority bench for first time since Reagan

By Sean Lengell

Published December 10, 2013 5:00am ET

Powerful D.C. Circuit Court has Democratic majority bench for first time since Reagan — President Obama gestures while nominating Patricia Ann Millett, an appellate lawyer, to become a federal judge, during an event in the Rose Garden at the White House on June 4, 2013 in Washington, D.C. If confirmed by the Senate, Obama's three nominees will fill three vacancies on United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty images) | Mark Wilson

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, considered the nation’s second-most influential court behind the Supreme Court, now tilts Democratic, thanks to the Senate’s new filibuster rules.

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Obama’s nominee Patricia Ann Millett to the appeals court, a long-delayed move that brings the bench’s judicial lineup to nine — with five judges appointed by Democratic presidents and four by Republicans.