Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said he was very pleased the U.S. Senate today confirmed three more judicial nominees from President Bush -- William Pryor, David McKeague, and Richard Griffin -- to positions on the federal bench. Five Bush nominees to federal appeals courts have been confirmed by the Senate in slightly more than two weeks. They include Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen, and the three judges confirmed today. The confirmations are lifetime appointments. “This has been a banner week for President Bush, the U.S. Senate, and the federal judiciary,” said Graham, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We finally achieved up-or-down votes on some of the most distinguished and qualified nominees President Bush has submitted to the U.S. Senate. I’m pleased we confirmed them to the federal bench and know they will serve us well. “I view it as a positive development we are now filling vacancies on the federal courts,” said Graham. “I hope the Senate continues the practice of voting on instead of filibustering judicial nominees.” Pryor will serve as judge on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. McKeague and Griffin will serve on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. “The confirmation of William Pryor is the most satisfying to me personally,” said Graham. “Of all the judicial candidates who have been filibustered, I have felt the most sympathy for him and Charles Pickering. “Judge Pryor will be a conservative judge every American can be proud because he will uphold the law – not make it,” said Graham. “He is a solid conservative who has taken some very brave stands in his home state of Alabama to uphold the law. “Judge Pryor has been unmercifully maligned by critics for sharing the values of average every day citizens in Alabama and throughout much of the country,” said Graham. “I’m pleased for him and his family that he will now take his lifetime appointment on the federal bench.” #####