Here's some end-of-year news to be happy about. Yesterday, the Senate confirmed President Biden's 40th Federal judicial nominee, matching a record from St. Ronnie of Hollywood's first year in office in 1981. Before leaving for the holidays yesterday morning, the Senate confirmed 10 Federal District Court judges in a dash to the doorway. It's a remarkable achievement, and one largely uncovered by the Beltway media, given the coverage of the former malignant guy's stuffing the Federal bench with the laser-focused assist by then Senate majority leader "Moscow Mitch" McConnell. They stuffed "only" 18. The judicial picks are far more representative of America's demographics than the overwhelmingly white male appointees in the past 4 years, and drawn from varied legal professions, from civil rights attorneys to state judges.
Nonetheless, Senate Republicans have been able to stall or kill Biden's nominations to Federal Appeals Courts, and there are few vacancies at that level from the departure of Republican-appointed judges, meaning new appointments will be replacing Democratic-appointed judges. Of course, if Dems lose control of the Senate after the 2022 mid-terms, the number of judicial appointments cleared by the Senate will be slim to none, another reason why mid-terms matter. Just ask Supreme Court Justice Merrick Garland.
