On July 28, 2005, the Senate approved the nominations of two Republicans, Thomas A. Fuentes and Bernice Phillips, to serve on LSC's 11-member Board of Directors. President Bush nominated Fuentes, former chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, to serve on LSC's board in January 2003, but the when the Senate did not approve his nomination, the President placed him on the board in a recess appointment that expired in December 2004. The President re-nominated Fuentes for Senate approval in May 2003. The President first nominated Phillips, who has served as a client-eligible board member for LSC-funded Neighborhood Legal Services of Buffalo, in September 2003. The Senate did not act on her confirmation, and the President re-nominated her in January 2005. She will take the place of Maria Luisa Mercado, a Clinton appointee.