The Senate is scheduled for midnight Wednesday, and Democrats are trying to usher in a slew of judicial nominees to fill vacancies weeks before handing control of the Senate to Republicans in January.
The chamber is planning a vote that could last into Thursday as part of the push, the second night that lawmakers will burn the midnight oil. The judicial offensive began Monday, when Democrats unexpectedly sought the promotion of more than a dozen judges, including a highly controversial circuit court nominee.
So Republicans put on the brakes and took a procedural vote to shift the chamber from the executive branch to the legislative branch and back again, prolonging the vote and making life difficult for their colleagues in the process.
This process will occur again on Wednesday night.
“We will continue to lobby the justices throughout the day and into tonight,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in remarks on the floor. “We have many excellent candidates to consider, which is why we ask our colleagues to be flexible and stay late to expedite the vote.”
In addition to judicial votes taken Wednesday morning and early afternoon, senators have filed a proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders (R-Vt.) to block the transfer of tank ammunition, mortars, and bomb guidance kits to Israel. They plan to vote on three resolutions. . This set starts around 6pm
That will be followed by a vote on a resolution by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that would block the Biden administration from canceling more than $4.5 billion in repayments made by Ukraine to the United States.
The Justice Department vote is expected to ultimately follow the nominations of Sparkle Skunanan and Brian Murphy for district judges in Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts, respectively.
One official noted that the list represents current plans but could change as attendees change.
Absences are expected to weigh on Republicans again this week, paving the way for a number of judicial nominees to win confirmation this week. Topping the list was the affirmation of the vote for Embry Kidd by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday in the absence of five Senate Republicans. If they had all attended, Republicans might have been able to defeat the nomination.
The same situation played out Wednesday, with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) and Joe Manchin (Idaho, Virginia) each voting against two district court nominees, with Democrats receiving just 50 votes. They couldn't get it and couldn't break the tie. Vice President Harris is in Hawaii.
However, not all Senate Republicans attended. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) was absent from both sessions, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) missed the morning vote.
Mr. Cruz returned to the Capitol around noon after returning from West Palm Beach, Florida, earlier in the day. He accompanied President-elect Trump to the SpaceX rocket launch in Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday.
According to two Republican officials, Mr. Brown is attending a meeting of incoming governors. He is not seeking re-election to the Senate and will be sworn in as Indiana governor next month.
Republicans were outraged by the absentee votes on Monday and Tuesday, with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), President-elect Trump's pick for secretary of state, coming out on top.
“Not personally, not directly, just in general,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said during lunch Tuesday when he and Cruz went to see a rocket launch. When asked if his colleagues laughed out loud about it, he replied:
“We just talked a lot right now about making sure we have a chance to actually block on some of these and making sure we can get here,” Kramer said. “I think there’s a lot of renewed commitment to everyone here.”
