This past spring, Senator Pat Toomey was getting battered over the delay in scheduling a committee hearing on the Third Circuit nomination of Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo. In May, Toomey’s office responded in part by assuring the public that Toomey was “confident he will be confirmed by year’s end.”

Although Toomey did not say it at the time, it now appears that “by year’s end” meant that Toomey had already decided to let the nomination languish until year’s end. Thus in the months that followed, he ignored call after call after call after call to ask the Republican leadership for a confirmation vote.

Now, just as critics predicted, when earlier this week Toomey finally did ask for a confirmation vote, it was scheduled right away. The floor vote on Restrepo’s nomination is set for January 11, 2016.

I’m happy for Judge Restrepo that he’s getting a vote finally. And it’s great for the Third Circuit that one of its vacancies will (presumably) be filled. But I’ll never believe that it shouldn’t have all happened half a year sooner.