The White House isn’t bowing to pressure from president-elect Donald Trump to stop making judicial confirmations during President Joe Biden’s lame-duck period.
Trump has a little more than two months before he returns to the White House and steps back into a position to control various governmental appointments. However, he has tried to see if he can flex his authority early, calling for Republicans in Congress to block any confirmations Biden tries to send through between now and Jan. 20, 2025.
“Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!” Trump wrote.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates shot down the idea Trump could dictate terms while he was out of office.
“Regardless of party, the American people expect their leaders to prioritize the rule of law and ensuring the criminal justice system can function effectively in every state,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement to the Hill. “Delaying the confirmation of strongly qualified, experienced judges takes a real-life toll on constituents and leads to backlogs of criminal cases — meaning there is every urgent reason for Republicans and Democrats to continue working together in good faith to staff the federal bench.”
Putting a hold on confirming nominees would be a break with tradition. The GOP-led Senate confirmed 55 nominees, including 18 judges, during the lame-duck period of Trump’s first term.
“There is no excuse for choosing partisanship over enforcing the rule of law,” Bates said.
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Trump hasn’t only tried to put his thumb on the scales now. He has also suggested that when he returns to the Oval Office, he should have the ability to make appointments for key officials without Senate approval.
“Sometimes the votes can take two years or more,” he said. “This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again.”
