In less than a week following his re-election, Donald Trump posted an intriguing message on his social media. He took note of the possibility that despite his victory, Democrats could still proceed with validating their judicial appointees in the post-election period. Trump voiced his disdain for this potential occurrence, deeming it ‘NOT ACCEPTABLE.’ This may seem ironic given that Biden’s final judicial confirmation in his term has surpassed Trump’s.
President Joe Biden marked a peculiar achievement as the Senate validated his nomination of the 235th federal judge. Despite coming across as a triumph, one might argue it’s a pyrrhic victory, as it outdid Trump by a mere single appointment. The fact that the Democrats utilized the entirety of their term to only exceed Trump’s record by one shows a rather unspectacular performance from their side.
The latest confirmation on a Friday could be Biden’s last, yet this endnote in Biden’s failing presidency comes with a hollow ring. His record comprises a single Supreme Court justice, 45 appeals court judges, 187 district court judges, and two judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade. If the Democrats are trying to manufacture a legacy, it certainly falls short of impressive when seen in the bigger picture.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer self-congratulated on the Friday evening following the confirmation. He asserted this majority-held confirmation record under Biden to be historical, the most in decades. However, the truth is that such records have been shattered before by presidential stalwarts.
It’s noteworthy that Jimmy Carter, for instance, set the record for most judicial appointments in a single four-year term with 262 confirmed judges prior to his defeat in 1980. This makes Biden’s ‘achievement’ of 235 judges confirmed,?a far cry from?Carter’s overwhelming success.
Conspicuously, Trump nearly mirrored Carter’s landmark, having confirmed 234 appointees in his term. Yet, Biden and his party’s slim, four-year Senate majority only narrowly outstripped Trump’s accomplishment with the confirmation of 235 judges. It gives the impression of a political footrace, where Biden’s camp is barely keeping pace with its competition.
Democrats have self-glorified the nature of these appointments, suggesting that these choices have diversified the federal judiciary. Among the 235 confirmations, 150 were women and 139 were people of color. They aim to paint a picture of pioneering ‘firsts’, such as more Black judges, more Hispanic judges, more women of color, and more openly LGBTQ+ people than any other president’s full term in office.
In this regale of achievements, the Democrats have also vaunted about the ‘breakthroughs’, which include the first Black woman confirmed to the Supreme Court, the first Muslim Americans on the federal bench, the first open lesbian on any federal circuit court, the first-ever Navajo federal judge, and the first Native Hawaiian woman. It took an exhaustive, four-year effort to attain this. Four years later, it’s only rational to bask in this less than stellar accomplishment.
With this said, one could question, ‘Given all the self-congratulatory fanfare from the Democrats, wouldn’t Trump and the Republican-led Senate simply countersink with another 230 or so judges in their rein?’ Interestingly, this may not be the case. Reports suggest that not all Republicans are intensely optimistic about Trump validating as many judge nominations in his second term.
The Washington Post disclosed last month that some Republicans admit Trump may fall short in terms of confirming more judges in his next term. One can take solace in the fact that the Democrats view their overtaking of judicial confirmations as a significant accomplishment, yet sore doubts remain about whether it’s genuinely transformative or just political grandstanding.
Whether there’s true cause for the victory cries among Biden, Schumer, and their allies is questionable. Their jubilance about meeting one of the party’s top priorities appears more like a shielded victory lap around a half-won race. It gives a distinct impression of an administration desperate to clutch at straws to build some semblance of a successful legacy.
In the grand scope of things, Biden and his team’s narrow victory over Trump’s record of judicial confirmations resembles less of a historic feat and more of a testament to their weak command. The Democrats’ insubstantial majority in confirming judicial appointments paints a rather dismal picture of their governing efficiency.
Surely one can’t help but perceive this seeming ‘success’ as more of a desperate gasp for political triumph than a noteworthy achievement. Among the plethora of Biden’s lackluster performance indicators, this is just another testament to his rudderless leadership.
As the fog of political rhetoric clears, one thing becomes apparent: the Democrats’ pyrrhic victory in surpassing Trump’s judicial confirmation record is merely ironic. No amount of self-congratulatory speeches can mask the painful fact that they barely managed to keep their heads above water.
Biden’s presidency, dominated by inflated claims of victories, remains a testament to the administration’s pursuit of quantity over quality. His term, marked by mediocrity, ends not with applause but with a glaring question mark, reflecting upon the true impact of his mediocre stewardship.