In reversals, Trump and Thune look to stop Biden’s judicial nominees

November 19, 2024.

  • Trump’s Call: President-elect Donald Trump urged a halt in confirming President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, accusing Democrats of trying to stack the courts.
  • White House Response: The White House argued that delaying confirmations harms the rule of law and leads to backlogs in criminal cases.
  • Senate Republicans’ Actions: Senate Republicans, led by Sen. John Thune, obstructed the confirmation process, reversing Thune’s previous stance on the importance of confirming judges.
  • Schumer’s Efforts: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to continue confirming judges, highlighting the diversity and qualifications of Biden’s nominees.

“The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door. No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!” – Trump wrote on his social media platform. The White House responded to Trump’s post, arguing that “there is no excuse for choosing partisanship over enforcing the rule of law.”

“Regardless of party, the American people expect their leaders to fight for the rule of law and to ensure the criminal justice system can function effectively in every state. Delaying the confirmation of highly qualified, experienced judges takes a real-life toll on constituents and leads to backlogs of criminal cases – meaning Senator Thune was correct in 2020 when he said senators have every urgent reason for Republicans and Democrats to continue working together in good faith to staff the federal bench.” – White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.

“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 said in a statement to ABC News.

Thune’s statement vowing to obstruct the judicial confirmation process in the final hours of the Biden presidency is a departure from comments he made just a few years ago toward the end of Trump’s administration. At the time, Thune touted the importance of confirming judges to the bench, saying it was “one of our most important responsibilities as senators” and one of the main reasons he ran for the Senate. – Thune said during a floor speech on Nov. 18 2020 – after Biden won the election.

His comments from 2020 are a notable reversal from his comments this week, as Senate Republicans look to obstruct Democrats as they attempt to do the same for Biden.

Schumer though, doubled down on his efforts Tuesday, and said he expects the Senate to work late into the night again this Wednesday to get the nominees through. Senate Democrats are hoping to confirm as many judges to lifetime appointments as they can while Biden is still president.

“Members should be prepared for another late night on Wednesday to vote on the nominations I filed last night. Voting on the president’s judicial nominees is a core function of the Senate. It’s one of our basic responsibilities, and we’re going to carry out that responsibility as long as this majority continues. I’m very proud of the judges we’ve confirmed over the past four years under this administration, they have all been highly qualified individuals, and together, they represent a wide range of experiences and areas of expertise. We’re not done. There are more judges to consider and confirm.”

Schumer touted the quality of judges the Senate has passed under his leadership, noting their many backgrounds and cultures and identities. He said under his watch, the Senate has confirmed a record number of women and people of color to the federal bench.

Schumer vowed to spend the rest of the week – and the year – confirming more judges. Every judge confirmed in this lame-duck session of Congress is one fewer vacancy Trump can fill come January.

Republicans have Democrats’ record on judicial confirmations beat.

Republicans confirmed 234 of Trump’s nominees to the federal courts during his four years in office, and so far the Democrat-controlled Senate has confirmed 216 under Biden’s administration.