The nomination of federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court has moved forward to the full Senate. Its confirming vote is expected late this week, prior to the body's four-week summer recess scheduled to begin Aug. 6. Only a simple majority is required.

   With Democrats occupying 60 of the Senate's 100 seats, and five Republican senators already committed to Sotomayor's appointment, her confirmation appears certain.

   The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 on July 28 in support of President Obama's nominee.

   National President Rosa Rosales of the League of United Latin American Citizens hailed it as "a great day in the history of the United States," promising, "She will have a tremendous impact on Latinas and women across the nation. In America, all things are possible."

   The committee's vote was party-line with one exception. Conservative Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina cast an "aye" although stating he still had his doubts about Sotomayor's impartiality. Some of her speeches "bugged the hell out of me," he said.

   The five GOP "nays" marked the first time that any Republican had voted against a Supreme Court nominee put forward by either a Democratic or Republican president.

   Sotomayor, 55, is President Obama's first nominee to the nation's highest court. She would become its 111th member, first Hispanic and third female justice.

   The Judiciary Committee's four-day confirmation hearing foreshadowed its vote, with Democrats praising Sotomayor's 17-year record as a federal judge and her made-in-America story as a Hispanic woman who rose to success through hard work and opportunity.

   Committee member Orrin Hatch of Utah did not vote for Sotomayor. He said he "genuinely wrestled with this decision," but in studying her speeches, articles and decisions, found a "troubling approach to judging" that her testimony did not resolve.

   Major Hispanic organizations were near-unanimous in their reaction. Among those heralding the decision were the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, National Council of La Raza, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, League of United Latin American Citizens and National Association of Latino Elected & Appointed Officials.

   NALEO executive director Arturo Vargas stated, "The U.S. Senate now has the opportunity to approve the appointment of an exceptionally accomplished jurist who has more experience in the federal judiciary than any other person nominated to the Supreme Court in a hundred years. We urge the Senate to swiftly confirm the historic nomination of Judge Sotomayor to ensure she is seated by the first Monday in October, when the Court publicly convenes."

   (Natalie Conrad is a reporter with Hispanic Link News Service in Washington, D.C. Email at [email protected].)