Democrats Push Through Biden's Leftist Judicial Nominees After Multiple Republican Senators Fail to Show Up

Outgoing President Joe Biden has only a few weeks left in office, but his judicial legacy is set to endure, aided in part by key absences from Republicans during crucial Senate votes on Monday. Democrats successfully confirmed more than a dozen Biden nominees to lifetime federal judicial appointments, thanks in part to the failure of some GOP lawmakers, including Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, to attend.

Republicans who did show up were outraged, as was President-elect Donald Trump.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis voiced his frustration, saying, “If we don’t show up, we lose. I don’t care what the reasons were. We have fewer than 15 scheduled legislative days. You have to show up. Period. End of story. There’s nothing more important,” according to The Hill.

Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, known for his sharp commentary, described his frustration as “on a scale of 1 to 10, a 12.” He criticized Biden’s judicial nominees, particularly for the appellate courts, saying, “They think they’re qualified to be a federal judge if they’ve seen My Cousin Vinny, and I don’t agree with them.”

Kennedy didn’t hold back on their performances in committee, adding, “None of them were Oliver Wendell Scalia,” a blend of the names of Justices Oliver Wendell Holmes and Antonin Scalia. “We had the votes to prevent them from being confirmed, but some of the folks on our side couldn’t be here, and it’s frustrating.”

Vance defended his absence, arguing that the votes would have been lost regardless and emphasizing his focus on long-term priorities, such as preparing for the next FBI director under Trump’s administration. However, The Hill reported that at least one nominee, Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd, could have been blocked if all Republicans had attended, given the absence of Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman and the dissenting vote of independent Sen. Joe Manchin.

Kidd’s confirmation to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which serves the Southeastern U.S., drew criticism due to his failure to disclose two child sex abuse cases where his lenient rulings had been overturned by higher courts, according to a Washington Examiner report.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lambasted GOP senators on the social media platform X, and on Tuesday, Trump weighed in, demanding, “Show Up and Hold the Line.” He added, “No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!”

Within an hour of Trump’s post, Vance returned to Capitol Hill to vote, but the damage had already been done.

Kennedy expressed his dissatisfaction bluntly: “We had some of these judges killed dead as Woodrow Wilson, and our vote wasn’t here. We had people not here to vote, and I’m not going to bubblewrap it. There’s no excuse for that. Our job is to be here and vote.”

This incident highlights the stakes in these final days of the Biden administration, as judicial confirmations cement a lasting impact on federal courts.