Sen. Cory Gardner bucks Sen. Michael Bennet — and tradition — by forming his own judicial selection committee

Federal judge Robert Blackburn this April will be stepping down from his bench on Colorado’s U.S. District Court.

Yesterday Colorado’s junior Sen. Cory Gardner broke with the tradition of respecting senatorial seniority and announced that he’ll be putting together his own judicial evaluation committee to vet applicants eager to be Colorado’s next federal judge.

Senior Sen. Michael Bennet is in the process of forming his own bipartisan committee. Traditionally, that’s what senior senators do. And, traditionally, the junior senator would work with his colleague.

As for Bennet, he’s happy to consider Gardner’s second committee’s nominations.

“We will have an ongoing bipartisan process and will welcome any recommendations that they submit,” Bennet’s spokesman Adam Bozzi told The Colorado Independent.

Gardner’s office didn’t reply to our requests for an interview about why he formed the second committee rather then working with Bennet on a speedy process. We would have liked to have asked him if he thinks Bennet’s office is too slow or if this is Gardner’s political attempt to circumvent bipartisanship and appeal to no-compromise conservatives?

“I take my responsibility to recommend Colorado judicial nominees to the President seriously and there is particular urgency in filling this vacancy,” Gardner said in a release.

That makes sense. But why do it without Bennet?

If Gardner gives us an answer, we’ll eagerly update this story.