Overcoming Republican opposition and Trump rage

Republicans do not have the power to block nominations altogether, but they can significantly slow down the process and thus limit the number of judges who come up for a final vote, a tactic that the GOP has been using. However, a number of Republican senators, including Vice President-elect JD Vance, failed to show up during recent votes on at least two Biden nominees, allowing them go through. Trump, despite having Republicans push through a number of his judicial nominees in the final weeks of his previous term, has expressed anger at Senate Republicans for allowing any judicial appointments to go through at the end of Biden’s presidency.

Despite Trump’s call for Republicans to “hold the line” against more confirmations, The Associated Press reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-Calif., struck a deal with Republicans who had been delaying votes on a number of Biden judicial nominees. In exchange for Democrats essentially dropping four nominations for circuit court judges — powerful positions that often have the last word in deciding cases on appeal — Republicans will allow the nominations of at least seven district court judges to proceed after Thanksgiving, with the possibility of an additional six district court judges being considered in December.

As reported, Harris will be on hand in December in case those nominations come down to a tie-breaking vote. Whether Democrats succeed in matching Trump’s judicial appointments number or simply come close to doing so, the renewed effort to appoint federal judges will leave less open slots for Trump to fill and will work to push the courts back to a more liberal position after Trump and Republicans moved them to the right.

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