'Pretty Damn Good': Why Biden's Goal to 'Trump-Proof' the Courts Has Been Deemed a Success [View all]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/carl-gibson/112477/pretty-damn-good-why-biden-s-goal-to-trump-proof-the-courts-has-been-deemed-a-success

‘Pretty Damn Good’: Why Biden’s Goal to ‘Trump-Proof’ the Courts Has Been Deemed a Success
by Carl Gibson | December 21, 2024 - 6:35am

— from Alternet


President Joe Biden communicated his intent to confirm as many federal judges as possible before leaving office, in order to deny his successor the ability to pack the judiciary with far-right activists. That plan seems to have borne fruit, according to a new report.

In a Friday article, Politico's Anthony Adragna wrote that Democrats' "fight to Trump-proof the federal judiciary" has been an overwhelming success. On Friday night, the Democratic-run U.S. Senate confirmed Biden's 235th judicial appointment, officially putting him past President-elect Donald Trump's 234 judges with a month left to go before Biden leaves the White House.

According to NBC, among those 235 judges include one Supreme Court justice in Ketanji Brown Jackson (who replaced Justice Stephen Breyer after he retired), along with 45 powerful U.S. Court of Appeals judges, 187 U.S. District Court judges and two judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade. All federal judges serve lifelong terms, meaning many of Biden's 235 judicial appointments — roughly one-quarter of the entire federal judiciary — will likely be on the bench for decades to come.

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When the new Republican Senate majority is sworn in next month, Durbin will hand over the reins of the Judiciary Committee to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). He has so far said he would keep the tradition of "blue slips" under his chairmanship, in which a U.S. District Court judge's nomination won't move forward unless both senators from that judge's respective state sign off on their nomination.