He was not friendly to immigrants and blamed his defeat on 'foreign Catholics'. Clay was beaten as well. In December, with Congress convened, Fillmore formally nominated Curtis, who was confirmed. In 1857, Justice Curtis dissented from the Court's decision in the slavery case of Dred Scott v. Sandford, and resigned as a matter of principle.Justice John McKinley's death in 1852 led to repeated, fruitless attempts by the president to fill the vacancy. The Senate took no action on the nomination of New Orleans attorney Edward A. Bradford. Fillmore's second choice, George Edmund Badger, asked that his name be withdrawn. Senator-elect Judah P. Benjamin declined to serve.