Rakim H.D. Brooks in The Hill: The judicial nominations queue can not afford an August recess
This excerpt is from a piece that originally ran on July 29, 2022.
At the end of 2021, there was good reason to be ecstatic about the pace of judicial nominations. President Biden and Senate Democrats had worked together to nominate and confirm 40 district and circuit court nominees, a record tied with Ronald Reagan’s first year in office. These were nominees who brought important demographic and professional diversity to the bench and who are already ruling on important matters like voting rights and new anti-abortion laws.
Seven months later, however, the pace of judicial confirmations has significantly waned — and time may well be running out. Not only are there dozens of nominees still waiting in the confirmation queue, but new vacancies on the courts are opening at a faster rate than judges are being nominated and confirmed. If Republican senators win back control of the Senate in November, this year may be the last opportunity to confirm any of President Biden’s nominees.