Senate Republicans delayed the vote Monday night to allow more judicial confirmation votes on the floor after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tried to build up additional judicial confirmation votes on the calendar ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. I chose to take action.
Two sources told Fox News Digital that the plan to slow the Senate was led by Senate Minority Leader John Thune, who was recently elected as the next Republican Senate majority leader. That's what it means.
“If Sen. Schumer thought that Senate Republicans, in their final weeks with a Democratic majority, would just allow them to immediately approve lifetime appointments for several judges appointed by Biden, what he thought? It was wrong,” Thune told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.
Multiple Republican officials told Fox News that Republicans are pushing back in the Senate following Democratic leaders' decision to file for closure of a number of judicial nominees scheduled for confirmation votes in the coming days. He is said to have planned a procedural maneuver to significantly delay the vote on the floor.
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Republicans had sought to quickly confirm Judge Biden, seeking a delay in Monday's motion for closure by Democrats. (Reuters)
Schumer's additional cloture filing comes as Democrats focus on confirming as many judges nominated by President Biden as possible within the time they remain in the majority.
“It could go into the wee hours of the night,” a source told Fox News during the evening's first procedural vote.
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Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota speaks during a press conference after the Senate Republican Policy Luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021 in Washington. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
To apply to close a nomination, the Senate must move from the Legislative Council to the Executive Council. This is usually done by unanimous consent of the Senate. But on Monday night, Republicans began opposing the unanimous consent requirement.
If senators object, the transition between the executive and legislative branches would have to be decided by a vote.
Republicans are adding extra votes to the schedule and spending significant time opposing Democrats' request for unanimous consent to apply for cloning of Biden's nominee.
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U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D.Y.) presents a motion to President Biden after Biden speaks at an event in Washington, D.C., on June 18, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Schumer's office did not immediately comment to Fox News Digital.
In remarks on the floor Monday, Schumer emphasized that Democrats are prioritizing judges in lame duck sessions.
“The judges we have confirmed represent perhaps the widest range of backgrounds and experience under any president to date, including those who have worked as public defenders, legal aid attorneys, civil rights attorneys, federal prosecutors, and voting rights attorneys. “We have more judges, we have more women,” and we have more people of color than we have ever seen under one administration,” he said of the 215 nominees already confirmed. .
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.Y.) departs from a press conference at the Capitol on July 23, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
“After voting today, we will continue. Tonight, I will bring forward additional justices to move forward on the floor this week.”
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“So, again, the Senate intends to continue to prioritize judicial and executive confirmations this week, this month, and the rest of this year,” he said.
Throughout its term, the Biden administration has aimed to surpass President-elect Donald Trump's first term record of 234 nominees for Article III judges. And as Democrats look down the barrel of a Republican trifecta in Washington, D.C., where they control the House, Senate and White House, they could overtake Biden's judges and outnumber Trump. He seems to be putting more energy into it than ever before.
