WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate has narrowly confirmed one of President Barack Obama's nominees to be a federal judge in Maryland.
The Senate voted 53-34 to approve Paula Xinis (Zin-iss) for the lifetime appointment, filling a vacancy in the Maryland district that the courts have declared a "judicial emergency" because of the number of cases pending there.
Senators have slowly returned to confirming lower-court judges amid the GOP blockade of Judge Merrick Garland, Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy. Xinis' confirmation is only the second since Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died Feb. 13.
The Maryland seat has been vacant since October 2014.
Obama nominated Xinis in March 2015. She is a partner at a Baltimore law firm and a former assistant federal public defender.