Senate Democrats are hustling to confirm far-left federal judges before the end of the 118th Congress next month, even after making a “handshake agreement” with Republicans to relinquish four appeals court appointments to President-elect Donald Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) acknowledged this week that lame-duck President Biden’s four nominees didn’t have a path to confirmation in the closely divided chamber — and that striking the deal with the GOP boosted the chances of adding to the more than 220 jurists confirmed to the federal bench since Biden took office in January 2021.
“The trade was four circuit nominees — all lacking the votes to get confirmed — for more than triple the number of additional judges moving forward,” a Schumer spokesperson said in a statement.
A Senate Republican aide told The Post that the settlement was part of “speeding the process” for as many as 25 judges in Democrat-controlled states to be confirmed before the end of the year.
While not setting any records, the number of Biden appointees joining the federal judiciary is rapidly approaching the 245 confirmed under Trump, 78 — all of whom will serve for as long as they wish, barring impeachment and removal.
Schumer has already filed cloture on several other controversial picks who were opposed by Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee — including California district judge nominee Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon, who passed the first procedural hurdle with a 50-49 vote.
Dixon, who currently serves as a California state bar court judge, was flagged for her prior activism as national director of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, where she attacked voter ID laws as “modern-day poll taxes” and advocated for illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition.
Schumer also moved ahead with the nominations of Brian Murphy, who was picked to be a district judge in Massachusetts, and Sparkle Sooknanan, tapped by Biden for a district judgeship in the nation’s capital.
Both nominations will come up for a floor vote when the Senate comes back from its Thanksgiving recess in early December.
As a board member of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Murphy signed an open letter in June 2022 calling for the elimination of all arrests “for fraught and unnecessary police encounters involving possessory offenses, assault and battery, breaking and entering, and similar offenses.”
Murphy did not disclose the letter to the committee — but Senate Republican staffers revealed his alarming stance, along with others, in a questionnaire.
“I do not recall any discussion about this letter, nor do I recall reading it,” he admitted in the questionnaire. “I do not know what led to the issuance of this letter nor what basis was relied upon for its factual assertions.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a Judiciary panel member known for his colorful comments and pointed questions, has vigorously opposed many nominees by calling attention to their past left-wing activism and overturned rulings.
During a recent hearing, Kennedy made California district judge nominee Noel Wise squirm by reading out a Time magazine article she authored about gender identity.
“‘Sex has countless — countless — natural permutations,'” the senator recited, before asking: “Did I read that correctly?”
“I believe that is consistent with medical science,” responded Wise, who is also up for a final confirmation vote after Thanksgiving when the Senate reconvenes.
It’s unclear whether Dem-aligned independent Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia or Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — both of whom are retiring at the end of this Congress — will oppose the judges in a final floor vote.
This week, US Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd — who failed to inform senators about lenient sentences he gave to child sex offenders that were later reversed — was confirmed by a 49-45 vote to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
Kidd’s confirmation came about only because of five Republican absences — including Vice President-elect and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) — and despite Manchin voting against the nomination.
“This leftist judge would have been voted down and the seat on the important 11th circuit would have been filled by Donald Trump next year had Republicans showed up,” raged Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis on X.
“Now, the leftist judge will have a lifetime appointment and the people of FL, AL and GA will suffer the consequences.”
The GOP aide explained that before the deal was struck on confirming judges, “it was a game of chicken” to see “who’s showing up any particular day” — with Vice President Kamala Harris unable to cast tie-breaking votes this week due to her vacationing in Hawaii.
“The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door,” Trump raged Wednesday on his Truth Social account. “Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) cheered on the deal that his conference later struck with Democrats, while warning that any of the four appeals court judges who pledged to vacate their seat should not go “back on their word to retire” with Trump due to take office.
“The Senate yesterday reached a deal to NOT bring President Biden’s four pending circuit nominees for a vote, which will allow President Trump to replace them,” Tillis said in a Thursday statement on X.
“I expect that the judges who submitted their retirements will not play partisan politics with a presidential transition and a bipartisan Senate deal by going back on their word to retire,” he added. “No judges did this during the previous lame duck because the judiciary needs to be above partisan politics.”
Former President Ronald Reagan holds the all-time judicial confirmation record, with 402 federal judges placed on the bench during his eight years in office.
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