The full New York State Senate firmly rejected Governor Kathy Hochul’s nomination of Hector LaSalle to be Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals on Wednesday, after Senate Democrats hastily brought a vote to the full floor intended to moot a pending lawsuit filed by the chamber’s Republicans.
After all was said and done, the Senate rejected LaSalle’s nomination by a vote of 39-20, mostly along party lines with Hochul’s own Democratic Party opposing and Republicans in support. That should firmly put to rest the nomination saga, resulting in a substantial political defeat for the newly-elected governor.