WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked the confirmation of federal appeals court nominee Caitlin Halligan for the second time, denying President Barack Obama a key judicial appointment.

A majority of senators, 51, supported Halligan's nomination, but Democrats needed 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to get it past Republican objections.

Citing her work on lawsuits against gun manufacturers and on behalf of illegal immigrants, Republicans said Halligan is too liberal to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The National Rifle Association opposed her nomination.