The Biden administration defended its push to confirm judicial nominees during the lame-duck period, rejecting President-elect Donald Trump’s demand to halt the process. Trump had accused Democrats of “ramming through” nominees ahead of Republicans taking control of the Senate in January.
“No judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their judges as the Republicans fight over leadership,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday.
White House pushes back on Trump call to halt confirmations in lame duck period https://t.co/7FegvsWUp2
— The Hill (@thehill) November 12, 2024
White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates dismissed Trump’s call on Monday, emphasizing the importance of staffing the judiciary. “Delaying the confirmation of strongly qualified, experienced judges takes a real-life toll on constituents and leads to backlogs of criminal cases,” Bates said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced 17 nominees who are awaiting floor votes. Senate Democrats plan to leverage their majority during the lame-duck session to confirm as many as possible. Democrats will lose control of the Senate in January when Republicans gain at least 52 seats.
Bates pointed to Trump’s own actions, noting that the outgoing administration confirmed 55 judges in the lame-duck session after the 2020 election. “There is no excuse for choosing partisanship over enforcing the rule of law,” Bates added.
The effort comes as Democrats race to solidify Biden’s judicial legacy. So far, 213 of Biden’s nominees have been confirmed, fewer than the 234 confirmed during Trump’s first term. With limited time remaining, both parties recognize the high stakes for the judiciary’s future.
