GOP Absences Rile Colleagues as Senate Confirms Biden Judges

Senate Republicans are lashing out at their colleagues whose absences are allowing President Joe Biden to get lifetime federal judges confirmed, even as some Democrats have opposed the appointments.

Republican attendance issues have eased some judicial confirmations on the Senate floor, despite GOP-led efforts to block Joe Biden’s remaining nominees while Democrats still control the chamber. President-elect Donald Trump wants no more federal judges confirmed until he is inaugurated, although a desire by some senators to be with Trump has kept them away from the Senate.

Rebecca Pennell was confirmed Wednesday to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, 50-48, with an opposing vote from Democrat-turned-Independent Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Braun of Indiana were absent, which allowed her to be confirmed without forcing Vice President Kamala Harris to cast a tie-breaking vote.

Pennell’s confirmation comes as Republicans employed stalling tactics since Monday evening to complicate Democratic efforts to push Biden’s judicial picks. But notable absences, including among Vice President-elect and Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), have allowed Democrats to easily overcome those obstacles and move more nominees to final votes.

“I don’t care,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said when asked about obligations that senators such as Vance, Rubio, and Braun have had outside Capitol Hill. Rubio has been picked by Trump for secretary of State and Braun won election as governor of Indiana.

“They’re US senators today,” said Tillis, who added that he’s “very angry” about the latest votes. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to make damn sure we’re all there at the strike of the gavel.”

The absences have drawn criticism from conservatives on and off of Capitol Hill who want to block the Democratic effort to confirm as many Biden judges as possible before the end of the year. Tillis said he’s stressed attendance with his colleagues and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said he and others “have raised fresh hell” to curb absences.

Absences Aiding

The Republican absences have aided Democrats, when they can’t secure full support from their caucus for nominees. Amir Ali was confirmed to the District of Columbia’s powerful US trial court by a 50-49 margin Wednesday after Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) voted against him.

“It’s a problem,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), a member of Republican leadership. Under full attendance, “we would be able to at least make a shot at preventing some of these.”

Beyond Vance and Rubio, Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who is under consideration for secretary of the Treasury, and Cruz missed votes Tuesday as both joined Trump and Elon Musk in Texas to watch a SpaceX rocket launch.

Perfect attendance will be needed from now on to block some of these nominees, Tillis said. He told reporters Wednesday that he has secured Democratic votes to defeat Ryan Park’s nomination to the Fourth Circuit, which covers North Carolina.

“90% of life is showing up,” he said.

The path to confirmation is still unclear for Adeel Mangi, whose nomination to the Third Circuit has attracted bipartisan criticism in the chamber. Both Nevada Democrats and Manchin have vowed not to support Mangi, enough to doom his chances on the Senate floor.

Future Votes

Nominees Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has been scheduling recently are some of the most contentious among Biden’s district court picks, said John P. Collins, a George Washington University law professor who tracks judicial nominations. But several have still managed to get support from at least one of the Independents in the chamber.

Mustafa Kasubhai, whose nomination to Oregon’s US trial court saw intense GOP opposition, got support from both Manchin and Sinema toward successful confirmation. The two have been most likely to defect from the Democratic caucus.

Even if Republicans are in town, less controversial picks are likely to clear confirmation.

“You may start seeing Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) vote yes as well and then it really doesn’t matter,” he said.

For their part, Democrats are just happy with the bottom line — judges are getting through.

“I don’t care what Republicans are saying to each other, I don’t care how we do it, with the vice president or among ourselves,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who sits on the Judiciary Committee, said. “I could care less as long as we get these judges done.”