Senate Democrats Face GOP Fight on Rush of Biden Judge Nominees

Senate Democrats’ efforts to confirm as many judicial nominees as possible before the year’s end is running up against Republican obstructionism, prompting an all out war on the Senate floor over the shaping of the judiciary.

Senators voted until midnight Monday after Republicans forced roll call votes on procedural motions that usually pass by unanimous consent. Schumer set up floor consideration for nine federal district court judges, more than usual as the majority leader pushed the Democratic effort on judges into overdrive while they still lead the Senate. But what should have only taken a few minutes when no senators object took several hours.

Monday’s grinding vote schedule highlights the challenge for President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats to maximize their impact on the federal judiciary before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. Democrats say they fear how Trump and Senate Republicans could further reshape the federal bench, and will move to place as many of Biden’s judge picks—even if it requires late nights.

“The majority will keep working to confirm as many of President Biden’s judicial nominees as we can before the end of the year,” Schumer said Monday. “The Senate will continue prioritizing judicial and administrative confirmations this week, this month, and the rest of the year.”

Conservatives, including Trump himself, have pressured Senate Republicans to block Democrats from confirming anymore of Biden’s judge picks. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said in a post on X that if “Republicans had showed up” Monday night, Embry Kidd’s nomination to the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which covers Florida, would have been voted down.

“Now, the leftist judge will have a lifetime appointment,” DeSantis said in the post.

Democrats have confirmed 216 of Biden’s picks for lifetime judgeships so far. Over a dozen nominees are awaiting confirmation, as Democrats set up committee hearings and votes for several others.

Despite the Republican-led procedural hurdles, some factors stand to benefit Schumer’s effort.

Absences, most notably of Vice President-elect JD Vance (R-Ohio), are likely to be more frequent until the end of the year. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, is also expected to appear less often in the chamber.

The absences of Independent Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.), who’ve complicated the Democrats’ slim 51-49 majority with their frequent defections, could also ease confirmations. Sinema only appeared for some votes last week and Manchin missed several votes Monday night.

Manchin recently reversed his blanket opposition to nominees who haven’t gotten Republican support, which he’d imposed for much of the year, and will instead look at whether they would have otherwise gotten bipartisan backing if not “because of politics” this election year. Manchin did vote against Kidd’s confirmation Monday.