Trump’s Push to Reshape Federal Courts Faces a Senate Roadblock
A narrow window for nominations
There are 28 current federal court vacancies, with 15 more expected to open in the coming weeks and months. Trump has formally submitted 16 nominees for those seats and could send additional names before the current Congress ends.
Trump announced three more nominees for district courts in Texas and South Carolina on Truth Social earlier Tuesday. The Judiciary Committee is expected to hold confirmation hearings next week, departing from its usual schedule of holding them every other week, according to a source familiar with the panel.
Dispute over committee practices
Sen. Dick Durbin, the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, accused Republicans of breaking longstanding standards to confirm more than 30 nominees before Democrats take the majority. The committee received information about Sullivan after he lost a Texas Supreme Court race last week, and about Gaiser on Nov. 8, before Trump announced plans to nominate them. Both are scheduled for hearings next week.
Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley rejected Durbin’s claim. The Iowa Republican said there are no rules governing how quickly the panel may hold hearings or when they must take place, and that chairs can set the schedule.
Open seats may remain vacant
Republicans are expected to make judicial nominees a priority during the lame-duck period. Seats still vacant when the current Congress ends may remain unfilled for at least two years, as the incoming Senate majority is unlikely to advance many Trump nominees.
The Senate has previously blocked judicial nominees from a president of the opposing party. In the final two years of Barack Obama’s administration, a Republican-led Senate confirmed 20 of his district and appeals court nominees. Obama’s last judicial confirmation came six months before his second term ended; Merrick Garland, nominated after Justice Scalia’s death in February 2016, did not receive a vote.
Supreme Court stakes remain uncertain
Democrats could seek agreement with the White House on district court candidates in their states, but it is unclear whether either side wants to pursue that approach. Rossi said Democrats now have the power to stop what he described as a dangerous shift in the courts.
The article says last week’s midterm results make it unlikely that a Supreme Court justice appointed by a Republican president will step down in the final two years of Trump’s term, since a successor would probably not win Senate confirmation. With neither justice expected to leave during the lame-duck session, conservatives worry that a future Democratic president and Senate could fill the seats of influential conservative justices.
Key points
- Democrats are poised to control at least 54 Senate seats next year, possibly 56.
- There are 28 current federal court vacancies and 15 more expected soon.
- Trump has formally sent 16 judicial nominees to the Senate so far.
- Republicans are expected to emphasize judicial nominations during the lame-duck period.