Senate Republicans Aim to Slow Biden Judicial Picks

With two months left in Joe Biden's presidency, Senate Republicans are using procedural tactics to slow confirmation of his judicial nominees.

After confirming one to an appeals court post, Senate Republicans forced votes on moving between executive session, where nominations are considered, to legislative session, where bills are considered. Usually this is done by unanimous consent, Politico reported.

Democrats used their majority to pass, but the votes ate up valuable floor time, Politico said.

"We'll keep going," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday on the floor. "The Senate is going to keep prioritizing judicial and administrative confirmations this week, this month, and for the rest of this year."

Schumer vowed to enforce vote time limits after the votes continued, Politico said. He eventually made procedural motions to confirm 12 judges:

• Mustafa Kasubhai to be district judge for the District of Oregon
• Sarah Russell to be district judge for the District of Connecticut
• Rebecca Pennell to be district judge for the Eastern District of Washington
• Brian Murphy to be district judge for the District of Massachusetts
• Anne Hwang to be district judge for the Central District of California
• Cynthia Dixon to be district judge for the Central District of California
• Catherine Henry to be district judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Sparkle Sooknanan to be district judge for the District of Columbia
• Amir Ali to be district judge for the District of Columbia
• Noël Wise to be district judge for the Northern District of California
• Gail Weilheimer to be district judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Sharad Desai to be district judge for the District of Arizona

President-elect Donald Trump has told Senate Republicans to block judicial confirmations during the last two months of Biden's term, Politico said.

• Senate Dems Eye Nights, Weekends to Confirm Biden Judges
• WH Rejects Trump's Call to Halt Judicial Confirmations