A high-stakes battle over judicial confirmations erupted in the Senate Monday night as Republicans, backed by President-elect Donald Trump, launched an effort to block Sen. Chuck Schumer and his Democratic allies last-minute push to confirm a slate of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees before January.
“Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
In response, Senate Republicans employed procedural tactics to slow the confirmation process.
The delay strategy, spearheaded by incoming GOP leader John Thune, forced Democrats into hours of tedious procedural votes.
“If Sen. Schumer thought Senate Republicans would just roll over and allow him to quickly confirm multiple Biden-appointed judges to lifetime jobs in the final weeks of the Democrat majority, he thought wrong,” Thune told Fox News Digital.
Schumer remained defiant, vowing to work through holidays if necessary.
“The Senate is going to keep prioritizing judicial and administrative confirmations this week, this month, and for the rest of this year,” he declared. So far, Biden has 215 confirmed judicial nominees.
Meanwhile, some Republican absences drew serious criticism.
“We had some of these judges killed — dead as Woodrow Wilson — and our vote wasn’t there,” complained Sen. John Kennedy. Vice President-elect JD Vance defended missing a few votes, saying he was interviewing potential FBI directors with Trump.
Democrats need full attendance to confirm nominees, as Republicans see opportunity to block some circuit court picks with Vance returning Wednesday.
Schumer moved to expedite votes by enforcing 12-minute limits, while pushing forward 12 new district court nominations.