Senate makes surprise deal on judge picks before Trump's return to White House
Late-night agreement between Senate parties trades district court approvals for appellate seats. Democrats give up four high-court picks while securing spots for trial-level judges ahead of next years power shift
In a late-night move on nov 21st‚ the Senate reached an unexpected deal that shows how politics shapes the courts system. Chuck Schumer and his fellow-Democrats agreed to drop four appeals court picks‚ letting Donald Trump fill these spots when he takes office next yr
The trade-off means Democrats can now get quick votes for lower-court judges (which they really want to push through before January). This deal came after Republicans tried to slow-down the whole process: they made it hard to confirm judges that President Biden picked
One big change: Adeel Mangi wont become the first-ever Muslim appeals court judge; his nomination is now off the table. The numbers tell the story — since the nov 5 election Democrats got 8 judges approved bringing the total to 221 judges during Bidens time
Willingly gifting Donald Trump the chance to appoint judges more committed to political agendas than the rule of law is doing a dangerous disservice to the American people
The deal includes these key points:
- Seven district-court judges will get votes after thanksgiving break
- Four appeals-court nominees are now dropped
- Five more district-court picks moved forward in committee today
The Senate already confirmed Sharad Desai for Arizonaʼs court but other nominees like Ryan Park‚ Julia Lipez‚ and Karla Campbell — who were up for higher courts — wont move ahead now. Republicans (who control 49 seats vs Democrats 51) had said theyʼd block at least two of these picks anyway
