The Senate vote comes as another Justice Department scandal appears to be on the horizon. The Washington Post reports that the Bush administration has increasingly emphasized partisan political ties over expertise in recent years in selecting immigration judges who decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of immigrants. At least one-third of the immigration judges appointed by the Justice Department since 2004 have had Republican connections or have been administration insiders, and half lacked experience in immigration law. All of the appointments were made by Alberto Gonzales or former Attorney General John Ashcroft.