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MapRepublicans’ Lame-Duck Push To Confirm Trump Judicial Nominees Faces Scheduling Disputes
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Republicans aim to confirm about two dozen Trump nominees before January, despite incoming Democratic majority. Scheduling disputes and objections in Senate Judiciary Committee slow confirmations amid lame-duck push.
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Lame-duck judge dash
Republicans moved to confirm about two dozen of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees during the lame-duck period after Democrats’ coming takeover of the Senate, with the compressed timeline already producing disputes over scheduling and individual picks.
CNN said a November 4 call from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz to a top lawyer in Trump’s Justice Department sought the lawyer’s interest in filing a seat in Texas after Texas elected Democrat James Talarico, who would have veto power over district court nominees.
Trump formally announced the nomination of T. Elliot Gaiser, head of the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, less than a week after that call, and the Senate Judiciary Committee set an aggressive calendar to push remaining nominees through the pipeline.
CBS News reported that the Senate has confirmed 57 of Trump’s judicial picks so far during his second term, while 28 vacancies on the federal courts remain and another 15 seats are set to open in coming weeks and months.
CNN quoted Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the Republican whip, saying, “We’re going to make every second count, and that means all these judicial appointments,” as Republicans tried to keep the process moving before January’s handover.
Home-state objections
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s first post-election meeting Tuesday opened with sparring between its chair, Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, and Sen. Dick Durbin, and the effort then ran into resistance from Republican senators in states with vacancies.
CNN said a planned Tuesday committee vote on two Oklahoma nominees was derailed when opposition to Zachary West came from the junior senator, Republican Sen. Alan Armstrong, with North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis supporting Armstrong’s opposition.
The White House told CNN it stood by both Oklahoma nominees, with an official saying, “President has selected two highly qualified nominees for the district court in Oklahoma, and we are confident they will be confirmed.”
The White House also reversed course on an Arkansas seat on the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals, withdrawing US District Judge Lee Rudofsky after home-state senators objected and backing their preferred candidate.
CNS Maryland quoted Durbin saying, “Republicans are breaking the rules to jam through these nominees,” as he argued that hearings were being scheduled even if FBI background investigations had not been cleared by staff.
What is at stake
Republicans framed the lame-duck push as a last chance to seat judges before Democrats take control of the Senate in January, with the New York Times saying the GOP intended to win confirmation of about two dozen federal judges before losing power.
The New York Times reported that Democrats promised to slow the “lame-duck judicial juggernaut” that began Tuesday after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved four nominees and sent them to the floor for consideration.
CNN reported that Republicans are anticipating Democrats may not allow any of Trump’s nominees to be confirmed once they take Senate control, raising the stakes for getting every possible judge approved in the next month and a half.
Deseret News said Trump shared online that there were 161 pending nominations, including 25 federal judge positions, as Sen. Mike Lee urged the Senate to confirm one judge to the 8th Circuit court along with the rest of Trump’s pending nominees.
The Conversation warned that with Democrats securing at least a 54-seat majority in the Senate on Jan. 3, 2027, the window is rapidly closing for Trump to appoint a new Supreme Court justice, and it quoted Richard Blumenthal saying, “It is slim to none that we would support a nominee from this administration.”