The U.S. Senate’s Democratic majority is moving swiftly to confirm President Joe Biden’s federal judicial nominees, aiming to fill as many vacancies as possible before Republicans take control of the Senate on Jan. 3. On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Biden’s nominee, former prosecutor April Perry, as a district court judge in Illinois with a 51-44 vote, marking the first judicial confirmation since former President Donald Trump won the Nov. 5 election.
Biden currently has 30 nominees awaiting Senate votes, with 16 already approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, are under pressure to confirm these judges to prevent potential vacancies Trump could fill if he takes office on Jan. 20. Schumer emphasized that they are committed to confirming as many nominees as possible.
Since his presidency began, Biden has successfully appointed 214 judges, including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, with a focus on diversity in gender and race. However, opposition has intensified, with Trump and allies like Elon Musk and the Article III Project’s Mike Davis urging Senate Republicans to block Biden’s nominees. Mitch McConnell’s office, while silent on this latest push, has historically opposed Biden’s judicial picks.
