The White House administration is preparing for President Joe Biden’s last opportunity to put his seal on the judiciary. Progressive supporters worry that he may not be able to appoint as many judges as former President Donald Trump accomplished over his four-year term.
The 2024 election contest between Biden and his Republican predecessor is looking increasingly possible. Senate Democrats are vowing to remain attentive to confirming Biden’s judicial candidates in 2024. It will add to the 166 already consented to sit on the bench.
Biden’s appointment rate compared to his predecessor’s slowed in 2023. Senate Republicans exerted influence and pushed the White House to negotiate with them over potential nominees.
Russ Feingold, a Democratic former U.S. senator and leader of the liberal American Constitution Society, stated that “slower pace has put Biden’s ability to continue to appoint diverse judges to the bench at risk as an election looms that will determine whether he gets a second span and Democrats retain control of the Senate.”
“Now we’re looking at a situation where if either the presidency switches or the Senate switches, most of this progress probably will be stopped or greatly stifled,” he expressed.
During his tenure, Biden has aimed to fulfil a 2020 campaign promise to bring greater variety to the judiciary. The concurrent judges have disproportionately been white men and are usually ex-prosecutors or former law firm associates.
As per the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, two-thirds of Biden’s approved nominees are people of colour, and 108 have been women.
He has repeatedly nominated civil rights lawyers and public defenders to the bench. Democrats seek to counteract the conservative influence of Trump’s 234 judicial designees.
Prominent approved judges in 2023 included Julie Rikelman, a former abortion rights attorney on the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Dale Ho, a voting rights advocate now functioning as a federal judge in Manhattan.
“All year long, this Senate majority has prioritised confirming judges who add to the bench’s personal and professional diversity, and we’re going to continue going into the new year,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed on the Senate floor.
However, the Senate approved 69 judges in 2023; that number dropped below the rate of confirmations during Trump’s third year when 102 were approved.
Biden has notified 30 other nominees who have yet to be approved. There are 53 current vacancies on the federal bench awaiting a nominee, and more vacancies are anticipated. In theory, he could reach Trump’s four-year total.
“There’s plenty of vacancies, but will he be able to nominate in red states?” stated Russell Wheeler. He is a visiting associate at the Brookings Institution. He monitors judicial nominations. “That’s the big question.”
Leah Litman, who co-hosts the liberal legal podcast “Strict Scrutiny,” stated Biden’s incapability to nominate judges in those states would provide Republican lawmakers can “do whatever it is they want” without consideration, courts will block rules they pass.”We have seen the effect that Republican blockades for district courts have had,” she said.
She suggested Texas, where Trump designated numerous vacancies with conservative judges. Judges have often been compassionate to challenges to Biden’s policies. One, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, stopped approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. some judicial vacancies in states with Republican senators have declined for months.” However, he has supported the tradition and urged Republicans to show they can compromise with the White House.
The White House, in recent months, has meant wins on that front, with district court judges approved in 2023 from Indiana, Idaho and Louisiana. It includes current nominees pending from Florida, South Carolina and Texas.
Biden concluded 2023 with an announcement that he planned soon to appoint five new judges in states with Republican senators. It includes two in Texas with the support of Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.
