The Senate departed for its Thanksgiving break Thursday with a deal in place to vote on six of President Biden’s judicial nominees when they return.
The deal comes a day after President-elect Donald Trump called on Republicans to “hold the line” against Democrats’ attempts to stack the courts with liberal judges.
“No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!” Mr. Trump wrote then on X.
Republicans cannot stop the confirmation of Mr. Biden’s judicial nominees if Democrats are all united and present for votes, but they have used procedural tactics throughout the week to delay votes.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer kept the chamber in late a few nights to work through the procedural votes needed to confirm the judges. In total, the Senate confirmed one circuit court judge and five district court judges this week.
The deal he cut with Republicans skips procedural hurdles the GOP put up on other nominees this week, allowing for confirmation votes on six district judge nominees soon after the Senate returns on Dec. 2.
Republicans consented to a time agreement for scheduling votes on the district court judges after Thanksgiving, effectively dropping their procedural hurdles.
In exchange, Mr. Schumer said he would not try to confirm any of Mr. Biden’s remaining nominees to the more-powerful appeals courts, according to the Huffington Post.
“We made excellent progress this week confirming judges, and I am pleased to say we’ve cleared the way to confirm many more judges when we return after Thanksgiving,” Mr. Schumer said in floor remarks Thursday.
“I’m proud that the judges we have confirmed under President Biden are exceptional, highly qualified, and have already begun to bring balance to our bench,” he said.
“Our nominees are adding new perspectives and broad ranges of experience to their courts – we’ve confirmed individuals with strong experiences in consumer protection and voting rights and civil rights, Supreme Court advocacy, prosecution, and more,” the New Yorker concluded.
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
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