US Senate Democrats rush to confirm judges before Trump takes office

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Aol/Reuters

November 12, 2024 at 1:42 PM


(Reuters) - The U.S. Senate's Democratic majority began a crusade on Tuesday to confirm as many new federal judges nominated by President Joe Biden as possible to avoid leaving vacancies that Republican Donald Trump could fill after taking office on Jan. 20. With Republicans set to take control of the chamber on Jan. 3, the Senate is set on Tuesday to hold a confirmation vote on one of Biden's judicial nominees - former prosecutor April Perry - for the first time since Trump won the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Perry was nominated by the Democratic president to serve as a U.S. district court judge in Illinois. All told, Biden has announced 31 judicial nominees who are awaiting Senate confirmation votes, including Perry. She is one of 17 who already have been reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and are awaiting a final confirmation vote by the full Senate. Another 14 nominees are awaiting committee review.

The U.S. Constitution assigns to the Senate the power to confirm a president's nominees for life-tenured seats on the federal judiciary. "We are going to get as many done as we can," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. Trump made 234 judicial appointments during his first four years in office, the second most of any president in a single term, and succeeded in moving the judiciary rightward - including building a 6-3 conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court with three appointees.

Biden has appointed a host of liberal judges. Since the beginning of his presidency in 2021, the Senate has confirmed 213 Biden judicial nominees, including liberal Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. About two-thirds were women, and the same share were racial minorities.

Read more: https://www.aol.com/us-senate-democrats-rush-confirm-184231864.html

[Lovie777]

1. Finally....

[FBaggins]

5. Don't count on it

The article could have been written months ago if the author knew the results of the election. Of course the departing majority will try to push through anything that can't be easily undone by the new majority...

... the question is whether or not they can. Is Harris willing to cast tie-breaking votes as she walks out the door? Will Tester or Brown show up to vote right after their constituents said that they want someone else to represent them?

How about the obvious Manchin/Sinema? Manchin has said that he won't support any nominee that fails to get at least some republican support - and that was before WV elected a republican. Do they show up at all so that a party that rejected them can use them for one last win?

Republicans are going to be in town as they plan their new majority. Democrats have organizing activities as well, but not for the lame ducks on their way out the door. What gets them to show up?

[moniss]

2. All well and good but I don't think the ones taking power are planning on complying with any rulings

against them. I believe they will compromise any agency of actual enforcement like the military, US Marshals etc.

[iluvtennis]

3. Good stuff - get it done Schumer! n/t

[lostnfound]

4. It's seriously unrealistic to think they won't be gone by midyear

Trump and his lackies wil create a way to fire/impeach/disempowerr them all.

I imagine they;’ll shut down DU too.

[maddogesq]

6. FILL BABY FILL!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

All is far, and the R’s did the same in 2020 as Rachrl pointed out.