WASHINGTON (AP) — Demand Justice, a progressive organization focused on the judiciary, is set to bombard Capitol Hill with a message for the closing weeks of the 118th Congress: Do “whatever it takes” to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominees as a second Donald Trump presidency looms.
The Republican president-elect's victory and the GOP takeover of the Senate leaves just seven weeks of Democratic control of the chamber.
Democrats have confirmed 213 of Biden’s judicial nominees during his presidency. Another few dozen are still pending. To add to those confirmations, Senate Democrats would need to stay in Washington far longer than they had planned and also navigate a razor-thin margin that hamstrung them at times on other Biden priorities.
Trump focused heavily on filling court vacancies in his first term, getting 234 judges confirmed, including three to the Supreme Court. Democrats are seeking to deny him more opportunities to name conservative judges as the party determines its path forward after a sweeping defeat that will leave it out of power come January.
“Senate Democrats cannot give up and go home just because they lost the chamber,” said Skye Perryman, a senior adviser to Demand Justice, whose push will include widespread lobbying, Capitol Hill events and targeted ads. “It is even more critical now that good, qualified, fair-minded judges are confirmed so they can serve as a backstop and uphold the rights of ordinary people and protect our Constitution.”
According to the United States Courts website, 17 pending judicial nominees have advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, eight are waiting for votes from the committee and six are waiting for committee hearings. The White House announced new judicial nominees in October and November.
The Senate returned this week from their break around the election. The Senate calendar has the legislative body being out of town around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. But the calendar is subject to change, and it is common for senators to leave Washington for extended weekend breaks.
The push will confront an already full schedule in the Senate, too. In addition to confirmations, the legislative body will be tasked with providing more disaster aid after a string of deadly storms, passing the annual defense policy bill, and keeping the government funded and open.
Some Democratic-caucusing senators like West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema, both independents, are leaving the chamber at the end of this session. And if Republicans are unified to oppose Biden's picks, Manchin has said he will not support judicial appointments that are not bipartisan, shrinking the Democratic margin.
One nominee, April Perry, was confirmed on Monday evening for the northern district of Illinois.
Asked about the effort to pressure Senate Democrats to do all they can to confirm these nominees, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “We are going to get as many done as we can.”
Trump on Sunday urged Republicans to oppose Schumer’s efforts. “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,” he wrote.
“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,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in response to Trump. “There is no excuse for choosing partisanship over enforcing the rule of law.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he hoped Republicans would not seek to delay confirmation votes for judges, noting that Democrats agreed to a package of 12 judicial confirmations at the end of the first Trump presidency.
“I hope they follow the precedent,” Durbin said.
He added that he hopes to get about two dozen judicial nominees confirmed during the lame-duck session.
“That’s just about all we can do,” he added.
Perryman from Demand Justice echoed that sentiment. “There is no excuse not to put these qualified individuals on the floor for a vote. Americans all across the country are working overtime to make ends meet, and the Senate should work overtime too: Americans deserve better from their elected officials than excuses or delays," Perryman added.
According to operatives working with Demand Justice, the group’s plan includes a widespread lobbying effort aimed at key senators, press events urging action and a new website that gives constituents a chance to see where the effort stands.
“With only weeks left before the new Congress, it’s more urgent than ever that Democratic senators do whatever it takes — staying late, working weekends — during the lame duck session,” said Maggie Jo Buchanan, a top operative at the progressive organization.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, in a series of post-election posts reflecting on Trump’s win, urged Schumer to “use every minute of the end-of-year legislative session to confirm federal judges and key regulators — none of whom can be removed by the next President.”
And groups like The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights have echoed this focus.
“As the Senate returns to Washington and with limited time remaining, it is critically important that our senators immediately vote on all of President Biden’s judicial nominees,” said Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program and an advisor at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Erling Haaland’s failure from the penalty spot and Bruno Fernandes' latest red card compounded the woes of Manchester City and Manchester United on another tough day for the two Premier League giants.
City dropped more points Thursday in its improbably poor run of form by drawing 1-1 at home to Everton, with Haaland having a spot kick saved by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 53rd minute.
The four-time defending champions have only won one of its last 13 games in all competitions and manager Pep Guardiola acknowledged he needs to spend in the January transfer window to reverse City's slide.
“The transfer window in the winter is not easy, but even the players know that we have to add some new players,” said Guardiola, who has had to cope without a host of key players, including Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, through injury this season.
While City is languishing in seventh place, United is even further adrift in 14th place after a 2-0 loss at lowly Wolverhampton.
United played almost the whole of the second half with 10 men after Fernandes collected his second yellow card in the 47th minute. It was the United captain's third sending-off of the season, though one was rescinded.
Second-place Chelsea also dropped points after conceding in the fifth minute of stoppage time to lose 2-1 at home to Fulham, giving Liverpool the chance to extend its lead to seven points by beating Leicester later.
Nottingham Forest won 1-0 against Tottenham to go up to third, while there were also victories for Newcastle and West Ham. Sixth-place Bournemouth drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace.
City secured only its fifth point in the league since the end of October but that will be scant consolation to Guardiola, whose beleaguered team squandered a winning position after going ahead through Bernardo Silva’s deflected shot in the 14th. Iliman Ndiaye equalized in the 36th.
Haaland’s penalty failure means the Norway international has only scored once in his last seven games. He headed in from the rebound after his spot kick, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Haaland, who last week admitted his form had not been good enough during a run that has seen City’s season unravel, held his head in his hands after his failure to score from the spot. He still has 18 goals in 25 appearances this season, but has not scored in a win for his club since the 1-0 victory against Southampton on Oct. 26.
“We shoot a lot in the 18-yard box, but unfortunately we could not get the results that we wanted,” Guardiola said.
City’s damaging run has seen it slip down the standings in the league and crash out of the English League Cup. It is also in danger of missing out on the playoffs for the round of 16 in the Champions League — sitting just one point above the cut-off point with two games to play.
Wolves' first goal against United came direct from a corner, with Brazil striker Matheus Cunha seeing his kick curl over the head of goalkeeper Andre Onana and into the far corner in the 58th minute.
Such goals are rare, though United also conceded from a corner in its 4-3 loss to Tottenham in the English League Cup this month. Son Heung-min scored on that occasion.
Wolves added a second through Hwang Hee-chan in the ninth minute of stoppage time and have won two straight games since Vitor Pereira was hired to replace Gary O'Neil. Cunha has 10 goals of the season.
Chelsea dropped points for the second time in as many games, with Enzo Maresca's team drawing 0-0 at Everton last week.
The Blues gave up a lead earned by Cole Palmer in the 16th as Harry Wilson equalized in the 82nd and Rodrigo Muniz grabbed the late winner for Fulham, which won at Stamford Bridge for the first time in 45 years.
Arsenal can now jump from fourth to second with a win against Ipswich on Friday.
Forest's remarkable season shows little sign of slowing down after Anthony Elanga's winner against Tottenham at the City Ground. Forest is a point behind Chelsea in third.
Villa was already a goal down to Newcastle after Anthony Gordon's strike in the second minute when Jhon Duran was sent off in the 32nd. Alexander Isak and Joelinton added goals for the hosts
West Ham had to cope with first-half injuries to defender Max Kilman and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, but still won 1-0 at Southampton after Jarrod Bowen's goal in the 59th.
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha, not in the picture, scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United at the Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Referee Tony Harrington, centre, gestures to Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, second from left, after being sent off during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United at the Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes heads down the tunnel after being sent off during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United at the Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (David Davies/PA via AP)
West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen, bottom right, celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Premier League match at St Mary's Stadium, in Southampton, England, Thursday Dec. 26, 2024. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes, centre, celebrates scoring his side's third goal of the game only to see it ruled out by VAR , during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Aston Villa at St. James' Park, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Nottingham Forest's Nikola Milenkovic and Tottenham Hotspur's Dominic Solanke, right, challenge for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur at the City Ground stadium in Nottingham, England, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur at the City Ground stadium in Nottingham, England, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Chelsea's Cole Palmer celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Fulham at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Fulham's Harry Wilson, center, celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Fulham at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Manchester City's Bernardo Silva, center, is congratulated after scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Everton at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola sits on the bench prior to the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Everton at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Everton's Iliman Ndiaye celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Everton at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Everton's goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, center, reacts after saving a penalty kick by Manchester City's Erling Haaland during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Everton at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Manchester City's Erling Haaland fails to score a penalty during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Everton at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Manchester City's Erling Haaland reacts after failing to score a penalty shot during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Everton at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)