A Senate in Democratic hands clears the path for Biden to keep remaking the courts
The Democratic Party’s stunning hold on Senate control will enable President Joe Biden and his allies in the chamber to do something that has been a low-key success: churning out federal judges without the threat of Republican obstruction.
The Senate majority, inked by a Democratic win in Nevada, gives Biden a clear runway to continue one of his most consequential pursuits: reshaping federal courts with a diverse array of lifetime-appointed liberal judges, including record numbers of women, minorities, former public defenders and civil rights lawyers.
The Senate has confirmed 84 Biden-nominated judges, including Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and 25 appeals court judges, confirming judges at a faster rate than President Donald Trump had before the 2022 election.
“Senate Democrats have been committed to restoring balance to the federal judiciary with professionally and personally diverse judges,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told NBC News on Saturday night. “With two more years of a Senate Democratic majority we will build on our historic pace of judicial confirmations and ensure the federal bench better reflects the diversity of America.” [Continue reading…]