The Democrat-led Senate confirmed outgoing President Joe Biden's 220th lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary Wednesday night with eyes toward reaching — or eclipsing — the 234 judges confirmed by President-elect Donald Trump during his first term.
Also, Senate Democrats voted into early Thursday morning to end debate on a handful of other nominees, teeing them up for a confirmation vote, Politico reported.
While Vice President-elect Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, was present and voted against the nominees, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, missed votes early Wednesday, and Indiana Gov.-elect and Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., missed the entire day, according to Politico.
That allowed Democrats to confirm Amir Ali, president and executive director of the civil rights organization the MacArthur Justice Center, to become a federal trial court judge in Washington, D.C., by a 50-49 vote.
The Senate also voted 50-48 on Wednesday to confirm Washington Court of Appeals Judge Rebecca Pennell as a trial court judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Teed up for Thursday is Sharad Desai for a lifetime appointment to be district judge for the District of Arizona, according to the report.
Trump on Tuesday exhorted Senate Republicans to be present on Capitol Hill to block the nominations.
"The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door. Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
After Desai, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will have another half-dozen nominees queued up for a vote after the Thanksgiving recess, according to the report.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.