Hamilton, Obama's first nominee, was voted out along party lines, 12-7. Davis was 16-3, with Republicans Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Charles Grassley of Iowa and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma voting no.

A vote was also scheduled for Obama's other judicial nominee, Gerard Lynch, for the 2nd Circuit. But Sessions, the ranking member, requested that it be delayed for one week, according to a spokeswoman for Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond Law School, said he was troubled by the political bent of the debate over the lower-court nominees, especially Hamilton. "It was important that it was a straight party-line vote for Hamilton," he said. "It's troubling. I wonder if that's a precursor for what's to come."