In an unanticipated announcement on his social media platform, freshly re-elected President Donald Trump shared his thoughts about the Democratic administration’s decision to continue pushing judicial nominations during the transition period. According to Trump, this move was entirely objectionable. The audacity of the Democrats seemed all the more heightened when, against all odds, the Senate, led by them, confirmed the 235th federal judge who was nominated by President Joe Biden. This was a dubious landmark for Biden, surpassing the count of previous President Donald Trump by a mere one judge.
The most recent confirmation came on a Friday. Speculation has it that this might be the last confirmation under Biden, a fitting end for a perplexing tenure. During his term, Biden rammed through one Supreme Court justice, 45 appeals court judges, 187 district court judges, and two judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade, relentlessly pushing his party’s agenda.
Celebrating this strange ‘victory’ on a Friday night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed that under Biden, they have confirmed more judges than any other majority in decades. However, when looked at closely, Biden’s achievement pales in comparison to the record set by Jimmy Carter, who had 262 judges confirmed to the federal bench before his defeat in 1980. Despite the Democrats’ attempt to spin a success narrative, Biden has not matched Carter’s record.
Trump’s record comes close, falling short by only one judge, with 234 confirmed judges during his term. Biden and his party’s razor-thin, four-year majority in the Senate managed to squeak past Trump, confirming 235 judges, arguably leveraging their position to further their party agenda.
Democratic leaders indulged in self-congratulatory praise, boasting about how these nominees will revolutionize the federal judiciary. They relished their partial success, with around 150 women confirmed and 139 being people of color. While this may give the impression of progress, it raises questions about the integrity and transparency of their process.
Under Biden’s administration, there was a surge in Black judges, Hispanic judges, women of color, and openly LGBTQ+ people being confirmed. However, these decisions raised concerns over the impact on the impartiality and neutrality of the judiciary. Additionally, Biden’s judicial appointments included the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, the first Muslim Americans on the federal bench, the first openly lesbian federal circuit court judge, the first Navajo federal judge, and the first Native Hawaiian woman.
However, it can’t be denied that this impressive roster required a sustained, four-year effort. It’s clear that while this may appear to be a ‘success’ nearly four years later, many question whether these appointments were made for the sake of diversity rather than for their merit or qualification. This raises concerns about Biden’s true motive behind these nominations.
People might wonder if these ‘Democratic celebrations’ are justifiable. Doubts persist over the longevity and impact of these decisions — might Trump and a Republican-led Senate override these appointments with their own selections? Interestingly, the answer is no.
Last month, The Washington Post shared an intriguing report; even some Republicans have admitted that Trump may not confirm as many judges in his second term. This tidbit is crucial in understanding the dynamics of the Biden-Schumer alliance’s triumph. Their victory, some may argue, is hollow and transient at best.
In hindsight, these optimistic declarations of victory by Biden, Schumer, and their cohorts suggest an attempted whitewashing of one of the party’s major objectives. Given the surplus of judges confirmed under the Biden administration, the real question is whether this was truly a prioritized achievement or a strategic move to tip the scales of justice in their favor.