by Jorge Gomez • 2 minutes
The U.S. Senate returns from recess next week and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that his party will use the lame-duck session to confirm more federal judges.
As of November 8, the Senate has 212 nominees during the Biden administration. Senate leaders say their hope is to match or possibly surpass the 231 federal judges confirmed during the Trump presidency.
“We are going to use the lame duck to confirm judges. And we’re going to do everything we can to get as many judges done as possible,” Schumer told NBC News in a recent interview. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin also said that continuing to churn through nominees would remain a top end-of-year priority.
But some court analysts say it will be a difficult task for Biden to match his predecessor on judicial confirmations.
“Biden cannot match Trump’s 54 court of appeals appointments,” Russell Wheeler of the Brookings Institution explains. “There are enough pending nominees to make possible 20 or more confirmations…but insufficient certainty about the post-election environment and likely behavior of lame-duck senators to justify saying much more.”
In 2020, the Senate had 34 pending nominations during the lame-duck session and confirmed 14 judges, according to Brookings. In other words, the Senate confirmed less than 50% of the nominees who were in the pipeline.
In 2024, the Senate has 27 pending nominees. If the pattern is similar to the previous election cycle, the Senate would likely only confirm 11 or 12 nominees during this lame-duck session. That number would put Biden at around 225 judicial confirmations, which still falls well short of his predecessor’s total 231 confirmations.
Politico also points out that “a lengthy legislative list may limit how much time Democrats can burn on judicial nominees.”
Republican senators appear skeptical about the possibility of the Senate confirming more than two dozen judges. “[Schumer has] assured that the lame duck is going to primarily be involved in doing things like appropriations and the NDAA, and there won’t be much time for confirmations,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told Politico.
The Senate is slated to return on Nov. 12, and work for a total of five weeks until the new Congress is sworn in, unless it cancels breaks during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Keeping A Close Eye on Upcoming Nominations
Federal judges have tremendous influence. Their rulings impact Americans’ most cherished and valued rights, including the free exercise of religion and the freedom to live in accordance with one’s faith.
Over the past four years, the Biden administration has put forth dozens of radical and controversial judicial nominees, many of whom have a dismal record on religious freedom. First Liberty has consistently warned that they could be hostile to people of faith and religious groups. They may also unconstitutionally advance their own policy agendas from the federal bench.
As the Senate returns for session, we’re keeping a close eye on several Biden judicial picks whose records have generated significant opposition. Some of those nominees have affiliations with radical, anti-Semitic organizations. Some argued against religious liberty and houses of worship in court. Others have espoused legal theories and views far outside the mainstream.
First Liberty is keeping a close eye on who is selected to sit on America’s courts. We’ll continue providing the facts on any nominees with a radical or unacceptable record.
Read More:
Brookings Institution: Biden’s lame-duck judicial confirmation prospects
NBC: The next president is poised to inherit the fewest judicial vacancies in generations
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