Senate Democrats have no choice but to confirm far-left federal judges by the end of next month's session of the 118th Congress, even after striking a “handshake deal” with Republicans that would give up four appeals court appointments to President-elect Donald Trump. I'm in a hurry.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said this week that lame-duck President Biden's four nominees had no path to confirmation in the closely divided chamber and that he had no agreement with Republicans. He acknowledged that the agreement had increased the possibility of further increasing support among the Republican Party. Since Biden took office in January 2021, more than 220 jurists have been confirmed to serve on federal courts.
“While this trade included four circuit nominees and lacked the votes to approve all of them, the number of additional judges in the future will more than triple,” Schumer's spokesperson said in a statement. .
A Senate Republican aide told the Post that the settlement is part of a “fast-track process” to confirm up to 25 judges in Democratic-controlled states by the end of the year.
Although he leaves no record, the number of Biden appointees to the federal judiciary is rapidly approaching the 245 (78) confirmed under the Trump administration, all of whom will remain absent unless impeached or removed. He will serve as long as he wishes.
Schumer has already filed to block several other controversial picks, opposed by Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Among them is Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon, a California district judge candidate who passed the first procedural hurdle 50-49.
Dixon, who currently serves as a judge on the California Court of Justice, is the national director of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, attacking voter ID laws as a “modern-day poll tax,” and is active in court. He was accused of past activities that claimed . Allow illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition.
Mr. Schumer also moved forward with the nominations of Brian Murphy, who was selected to be a district judge in Massachusetts, and Sparkle Sukhnanan, who was nominated by Mr. Biden to be a district judge in the nation's capital.
Both candidates will face floor votes when the Senate returns from its Thanksgiving recess in early December.
As director of the Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Murphy announced in June 2022 that all arrests for “dangerous and unnecessary police encounters, including possession charges, assault and battery, trespassing, and similar offenses” Signed an open letter calling for its repeal. ”
Although Mr. Murphy did not disclose the letter to the committee, Senate Republican staffers, along with other staffers, revealed Mr. Murphy's alarming behavior. by questionnaire.
“I have no recollection of discussing this letter, nor do I recall reading it,” he admitted in his questionnaire. “We do not know what led to the issuance of this letter or on what basis its factual assertions were made.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), a member of the Judiciary Committee known for his colorful comments and pointed questions, has called out many candidates for their past left-wing activities and overturned rulings. has vigorously opposed it.
At a recent hearing, Kennedy read out a Time magazine article he wrote about gender identity, causing California district judge candidate Noel Wise to flinch.
“'There are innumerable, innumerable, natural permutations of sex,'” said the senator. read aloudBefore you ask, “Did I read that correctly?”
“I believe that is consistent with medical science,” Wise said, adding that he plans to face a final confirmation vote when the Senate reconvenes after Thanksgiving.
Whether Democratic independent senators Joe Manchin (West Virginia) and Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) – both of whom will retire at the end of this Congress – will oppose the justices in a final floor vote remains to be seen. It's unknown.
This week, U.S. Judge Embry Kidd I didn't tell the senator. His lenient sentence for a child sex offender, which was later reversed, was approved by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Georgia, Alabama and Florida, by a vote of 49-45. .
Mr. Kidd's confirmation came despite the absence of five Republicans, including the vice president-elect and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), and Mr. Manchin's vote against the nomination.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at .
“From now on, left-wing judges will be appointed for life, and the people of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia will suffer the consequences.”
A Republican aide explained that before the deal on judge confirmations was struck, it was a “game of chicken” to figure out “who would be present on any given day.” Vice President Kamala Harris was unable to cast a tie-breaking vote this week to confirm the judge. Vacationing in Hawaii.
Trump raged on his Truth social account on Wednesday, saying, “Democrats are trying to pack the courts with radical left-wing judges and force them out.” “Republican senators need to show up and hold the line. We don't need to confirm any more judges before Inauguration Day!”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) later praised the agreement reached with Democrats in his own conference, but said none of the four appellate court judges who had promised to vacate their seats joined President Trump in “retiring.” He warned against breaking promises. To take office.
“Yesterday, the Senate reached an agreement not to vote on President Biden’s four pending circuit nominees, allowing President Trump to replace them,” Tillis said Thursday. said in a statement regarding X.
He added, “I hope that the judges who have submitted their resignations will not renege on their retirement promises and play partisan politics with the presidential transition and bipartisan Senate agreement.'' “No judge in the last lame duck did anything like this, because the judiciary needs to rise above partisan politics.”
Former President Ronald Reagan holds the all-time record for judicial confirmations, with 402 federal judges appointed to the bench during his eight years in office.
