Malign Neglect: Evidence That Delay Has Become the Primary Method of Defeating Presidential Appointments

This analysis shows that the lengthening of the confirmation process for presidential nominations to major judicial and executive branch offices from 1965–2008 is due to a purposeful strategy to defeat presidential nominees by preventing them from getting a vote. These changes are most apparent for judicial nominations, but they are also evident to a lesser extent for executive branch nominations. We argue that party polarization of the 1990s precipitated this process.