Senate Democrats are flexing their outgoing majority, filling a mass of court vacancies with liberal judges before the Senate term ends on Dec. 20—and before they lose their majority in January.
“It’s far too important, and we’re not going to let anything stand in our way,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Tuesday. “Everyone should be prepared for another late night on Wednesday to vote on nominations and get as many judges done as possible.”
And a late night it was, with the vote lasting to around midnight. Democrats succeeded in confirming two additional judges—one in Washington state and one in Washington, D.C. Since Donald Trump won the presidential election earlier this month, Senate Democrats have confirmed nine judges, many to lifetime appointments. Few, if any, Republicans have supported the nominees.
Democrats have confirmed a new judge almost every weekday since Nov. 12. And now they’re guaranteed to vote on at least another 12.
On Thursday, Politico reported that Democratic leaders had negotiated behind the scenes to give up four appellate judges in December in exchange for more than a dozen district judges.
“The trade was four circuit nominees—all lacking the votes to get confirmed—for more than triple the number of additional judges moving forward,” a spokesperson for Schumer said.
Lawmakers will take a weeklong recess the last week of November, then return with only three weeks until the 118th congressional session ends, where they’ll vote on seven judges once senators return after Thanksgiving.
On Tuesday, Trump used his bully pulpit to tell Republicans to “Show Up and Hold the Line,” adding, "No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!"
Republicans have also reportedly been getting increasingly frustrated with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, sabotaging their efforts by not showing up to vote. Both are currently senators.
White House officials quickly responded to Trump.
"There is no excuse for choosing partisanship over enforcing the rule of law,” said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates, in response to Trump.
"Regardless of party, the American people expect their leaders to fight for the rule of law and to ensure the criminal justice system can function effectively in every state," Bates added. "Delaying the confirmation of highly qualified, experienced judges takes a real-life toll on constituents and leads to backlogs of criminal cases—meaning Senator [John] Thune was correct in 2020 when he said senators have every urgent reason for Republicans and Democrats to continue working together in good faith to staff the federal bench."
Bates is referring to the fact that when the tables were turned in 2020, after Joe Biden won, Trump had no issue with confirming judges during the transition period. In fact, during that lame-duck period, the GOP-led Senate confirmed dozens of nominees without missing a beat.
“There is no time to waste,” said Democrat Dick Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee. “The Senate must try to confirm every one of these highly qualified, diverse nominees before the sun sets on the 118th Congress. The American people deserve nothing less.”
As the battle over judicial nominees unfolds, progressive groups are ready to support the confirmation push. Progressive political organization Demand Justice is preparing to stake out at Capitol Hill in the coming weeks.
“Senate Democrats cannot give up and go home just because they lost the chamber,” Skye Perryman, a senior adviser to the progressive group Demand Justice, told the Associated Press. “It is even more critical now that good, qualified, fair-minded judges are confirmed so they can serve as a backstop and uphold the rights of ordinary people and protect our Constitution.”
Senate Democrats’ confirmation blitz should provide something of a judicial bulwark against Trump’s radical agenda and his Cabinet full of far-right, washed-up TV personalities.
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