Senate goes to war over judges
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A fight over judges is serving as incoming Senate GOP leader John Thune's (R-S.D.) first showdown against Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Why it matters: Schumer is racing to jam through dozens of President Biden's judicial confirmations before the end of the year to break Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) record during the first Trump administration.
- Thune personally presented a plan for an aggressive defense against Biden's last batches of judicial nominees during a regular leadership meeting Monday night, sources familiar told Axios.
- It's Thune's first big moment since being elected to serve as the next GOP leader.
- It's also sure to please some conservatives whose support he needed to get his leadership bid across the finish line — senators very familiar with procedural protest tactics.
Zoom in: That led to the Senate floor staying open past midnight as Republicans forced procedural votes to drag out the confirmation process.
- Republicans are mad at Schumer for prioritizing judges over other must-pass legislation like the Farm Bill, defense authorization and appropriations.
- President-elect Trump is egging on the fight, demanding Republicans prevent new judicial confirmations ahead of his inauguration.
🚪 Behind closed doors, Republican vs. Republican frustrations bubbled over Tuesday after missed votes that helped Schumer move forward on the nominations.
- Vice President-elect Vance (R-Ohio), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) were specifically called out, sources in the room told Axios.
- Vance defended himself in a since-deleted post on X by saying even if he had shown up to vote Monday night, it would not have changed the outcome.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, took point in urging colleagues not to skip inconvenient votes in case no-shows and a slim majority during the lame-duck session end up working in Democrats' favor.
🔥 Zoom out: Look for Schumer to consider repaying the favor next year when it's time to confirm Trump's nominees.
- Schumer and Democrats ground through GOP stall tactics Monday night into Tuesday and are expected to continue to do so.
- Schumer has dozens of federal judges he can tee up for floor votes over the next few weeks, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will put even more in the pipeline each Thursday.
The bottom line: Schumer has confirmed 217 federal judges under the Biden administration. He is 18 short of matching the 234 confirmed by McConnell.
