WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is making clear he wants no more judges to be confirmed until he reenters the White House, accusing Democrats of “trying to stack the Courts.” 

It comes as Senate Democrats launch a full-force effort to approve as many of President Joe Biden’s nominees for the nation’s federal courts as possible before they hand over control of Congress’ upper chamber to Republicans in January. 

What You Need To Know

  • President-elect Donald Trump is making clear he wants no more judges to be confirmed until he re-enters the White House, accusing Democrats of “trying to stack the Courts"
  • It comes as Senate Democrats launch a full-force effort to approve as many of President Joe Biden’s nominees for the nation’s federal courts as possible before they hand over control of Congress’ upper chamber to Republicans in January
  • Senate Republicans on Monday delayed Democrats’ efforts to confirm additional judicial picks with procedural tools. Democrats, however, were able to confirm Biden nominee Embry Kidd to join the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Several Republicans, including Vice President-elect JD Vance, currently still serving as one of Ohio’s senators, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who Trump tapped to serve as secretary of state in his second administration missed the vote on Monday

“The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media site Truth Social on Tuesday. “Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has stressed that confirming Biden’s judicial nominees is a major priority during the lame-duck session between Election Day and the start of a new Congress in January. The Democratic leader, who will hand over the Senate’s top job to Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., in less than two months, told reporters Tuesday that lawmakers should be “prepared for another late night on Wednesday to vote on nominations and get as many judges done as possible.”

“We'll keep working to confirm these lifetime appointments,” Schumer said. “It's far too important, and we're not going to let anything stand in our way.”

The Senate confirmed 234 of Trump’s nominees for the federal judiciary during his first four years in the White House. Eighteen of those judges were confirmed after Joe Biden was elected in November 2020. 

As of Wednesday, the upper chamber has approved just under 220 of Biden’s picks. There are currently 45 vacancies with 17 nominees waiting to be confirmed, according to The Judicial Conference.

Senate Republicans on Monday delayed Democrats’ efforts to confirm additional judicial picks with procedural tools. Democrats, however, were able to confirm Biden nominee Embry Kidd to join the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Atlanta, by a vote of 49 to 45. Several Republicans, including Vice President-elect JD Vance, currently still serving as one of Ohio’s senators, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who Trump tapped to serve as secretary of state in his second administration, missed the vote Monday. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took to social media on Tuesday to slam those in his own party for not showing up to the vote and allowing Kidd to be approved. 

In a since-deleted post on X, formerly Twitter, Vance responded to criticism about his absence, noting he “was meeting with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director” when it took place. 

“I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” he added. “But that’s just me.”