One result of gridlock in Washington this year is that many federal judgeship vacancies have been left unfilled. Presidents nominate, the Senate confirms. The Democratic Senate allowed some but not nearly all of the Republican president's choices to go through this summer and fall.
In the Maryland district, three of the 10 authorized positions are vacant. This creates something of a workload problem. No doubt Maryland's two Democratic senators will quickly let their recommendations be known to the new president. This is a senatorial prerogative that Sen. Paul Sarbanes hasn't been able to exercise in 12 years. Sen. Barbara Mikulski never has.