The administration of President Joe Biden and his Democrat Party want to ram through every judicial nominee they can before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, but their plan will not work.
As Republicans prepared to slow the Democrats from appointing judges, the two parties struck a last-minute deal to allow votes for a handful of district court judges provided the Democrats halted the votes for four higher-tier circuit court judicial nominees, Fox News reported.
The deal will give the president-elect the ability to appoint and confirm four crucial appellate court judges and dozens more.
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke to Fox News that the trade included four circuit nominees that lack the votes to get confirmed – “for more than triple the number of additional judges moving forward.”
“I’m glad that Republican senators are starting to show up to vote because some of the worst nominees are still awaiting confirmation precisely because they didn’t have adequate support,” JCN President Carrie Severino said to Fox News.
“When Trump comes into office, he’s going to have dozens more vacancies to fill,” she said. “And that’s not even counting the judges who will take senior status over the next four years.”
CAPAction senior director of courts and legal policy Devon Ombres said “Frankly, I’m at a loss as to why they would get here.”
“It would be nice to see Democratic leadership and the White House try and push through and fill those vacancies where possible,” he said.
Ombres predicted that circuit judges appointed mainly by former president George W. Bush will take senior status, giving the president-elect additional vacancies to fill. He also predicted that judges appointed by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama would not take senior status.
“[Trump will] still have a handful of vacancies that he’ll be able to appoint,” he said. “But if the Senate Republicans maintain the blue slip process, it will be tougher sledding to appoint in those in blue states, but he will still have an opportunity to bolster where there is already strength, especially the 11th Circuit.”
The judges are anticipated to be voted on after the Thanksgiving break but just because there was a deal does not mean that Republicans will not fight the nominees being confirmed.
“I think certainly appellate judges are always going to be more important in our judicial system than district court judges,” the CAPAction senior director said. “But district court judges are still capable of instituting nationwide injunctions and striking down programs and issuing sweeping opinions.”
There will be massive changes to the Senate when Republicans take control of the chamber in January, including for former Republican Senate Leader and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell who is going to be chairing two committees in the new Seate.
McConnell announced Thursday that he will chair the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense next year, overseeing the defense budget as he prepares to step down from Senate leadership.
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In January, McConnell will transition to a rank-and-file member after 18 years as the leader of Senate Republicans. However, his new committee role ensures he will continue to wield significant influence over U.S. foreign policy, the Washington Examiner reported.
“Outside of defense, McConnell announced that he will chair the Senate Rules Committee, a lower-profile body responsible for contested elections and the administration of Senate rules and procedures,” the outlet added.
“America’s national security interests face the gravest array of threats since the Second World War. At this critical moment, a new Senate Republican majority has a responsibility to secure the future of U.S. leadership and primacy,” McConnell said in a statement. “I intend to play an active role in this urgent mission.”
