Staff Reports
The Biden administration has officially entered the record books, but not in a manner anyone expected. With the confirmation of two new district judges in California, Joe Biden has bested Donald Trump’s first-term judicial tally with a grand total of 235 confirmed judges. That’s a number that would certainly make any aspiring judge cringe at the idea of getting passed over for a spot after all that campaigning.
Benjamin Cheeks and Serena Murillo are now proudly wearing their judicial robes thanks to a party-line Senate confirmation, which, not surprisingly, split right down the middle like a cheap dollar store item. With Biden’s showdown score surpassing Trump by just one measly judge, it appears the Democrats are throwing a victory party in the middle of a drought. The last time a president squeaked past that number was Jimmy Carter, who managed to appoint a whopping 259 during his tenure, a feat that Biden might gasp at if he had the mental energy to comprehend all of it.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, orchestrated a little pre-Thanksgiving dance with Republicans, speedy-walking some federal district court selections through while saving better circuit court positions for Trump when he returns. Democrats have learned from their past mistakes, yet they cling to any scraps, convinced they are scoring grand victories—markedly ignoring a major caveat that they likely wouldn’t have the votes needed to push their nominees through.
Mitch McConnell, the outgoing Republican leader, set a gold standard for confirming judges, filling the courts with conservative appointees to counterbalance the liberal ideologies that often seep through the judicial ranks. Biden’s liberal hand has only managed to ice one appointee to the Supreme Court, while he now gets to pat himself on the back for cramming his bench with greater diversity. It would be like celebrating the fact that a college team managed to win a consolation prize after getting blown out in every game.
Biden beats Trump’s judicial record as Senate confirms final nominees https://t.co/hNzovnck8n
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 21, 2024
Chuck Grassley, the incoming chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, couldn’t resist throwing some shade, emphasizing how Democrats seized their moment with unfettered glee. He added that it seems they’ve finally grasped that getting judges is a big deal—a lesson they apparently needed to learn the hard way. Meanwhile, Democrats like Richard Blumenthal are grappling with the bittersweet taste of temporary victory, blessing their efforts yet simultaneously preparing for the next brawl with Trump’s return to power.
As Biden relishes his new title, he should be aware that Trump is prepared for the rematch. The judicial landscape going into 2025 will be substantially different from 2017 when Trump had over 100 vacancies up for grabs. By that time, Trump will have fewer openings, but there’s a strong feeling that he might just get the last laugh come January with Grassley promising to crank out more confirmations than Biden, setting the stage for another robustly conservative judiciary. There’s something undeniably delicious about that prospect for conservatives.
