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DC Circuit nominee Neomi Rao is up for a vote this morning in the Senate Judiciary Committee. @axios previously reported that Sen. Hawley had some concerns (see: axios.com/neomi-rao-dc-c…, so we'll be watching for that. You can watch live here: judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/02/28…
The Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting is underway, but there are only five members present (Graham, Feinstein, Ernst, Hawley, Hirono). "Where is everybody?" asks Chair Lindsey Graham. Without a quorum, they can't do anything
Annd now Hirono has left, but Graham says she'll be back
In the meantime, here's background on how Rao's confirmation hearing went: buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Things are underway (it looks like a few more members showed up, I'm watching remotely so I'll have to do another tally once the camera pans out). Feinstein is beginning by expressing her opposition to Rao, citing her role in shepherding Trump admin's regulatory rollback
It appears Sen. Booker is not at the Senate Judiciary business meeting yet because he's appearing on @AM2DM!
.@ToddRuger has the count
@ToddRuger There are five judicial nominees on today's calendar that are up for the first time since their confirmation hearings, so they'll be held over at Dems' request (as has been standard practice), including 2nd Circuit nominees Joseph Bianco and Michael Park 
Hawley says he *will* support Rao's nomination to the DC Circuit, saying he was satisfied with what she had to say about adhering to the "fixed" text of the US Constitution. This means Rao is likely to move forward with a vote along party lines
One interesting thing is Hawley was critical of what he called efforts to force him to "go along," and Cruz talked about the "arrogant and misinformed" criticism of Hawley. A Judicial Crisis Network strategist said they were prepared to spent $500K in Missouri media re: Hawley
Sen. Ernst also says she'll support Rao, although she again denounced Rao's college writings (see: buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…)
Rao appears poised to make it through with no problem in committee, but it is notable that two Republican senators, Cruz and Ernst, indicated that they might look at her differently if she were nominated for another court (aka SCOTUS)
Right now Feinstein is the only Democrat in the room, Graham says he'll wait a little while to do the vote, but he's not happy about it. Sasse is also not there
Kennedy decries the "bullying" of Hawley. "I was personally offended by the obviously organized effort by some to impose their will on members of this committee and I'm getting a little bit tired of it. l've had the experience that Mr. Hawley's had. I didn't appreciate it."
NOW: DC Circuit nominee Neomi Rao has been voted out of committee along party lines (Sen. Coons showed up, so they went ahead with the vote, the rest of the Dems voted by proxy). She'll now go before the full Senate.
