Washington - After waiting in the wings for 20 months, two Ohio nominees to the powerful federal appeals court will get a hearing before a key Senate panel Jan. 29.

Despite pressure from the White House, the nominations of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Deborah Cook and Columbus lawyer Jeffrey Sutton languished until Republicans regained control of the Senate in November. Democrats, while in charge, were in no rush to elevate President Bush's conservative nominees to a federal bench one level removed from the U.S. Supreme Court.

As OFCC PAC has been reporting for the past two months, once Justice Cook is confirmed, it will be up to Gov. Taft to name replacement for her on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Click here to read the full story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.