Who is Caitlin Halligan?
A 46-year-old lawyer and litigator, she is at the center of a Senate showdown set for Wednesday over President Obama’s judicial nominations. This is Halligan’s second time before the Senate—her initial appointment to the D.C. Circuit Court ended in a Republican-led filibuster in 2011. Now she’s back, reappointed by the president and the symbol of a new White House push to get Obama’s judicial picks in place—or failing that, to raise the political cost to Republican senators who block qualified appointees to score ideological points.