McConnell blasts ‘partisan Democrat’ judges who rescinded retirement

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Two federal judges were called out for their announced plans to “unretire” in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory last month.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blasted the “partisan Democrat district judges” from the chamber floor for their decisions to withdraw their retirements after “the American people voted to fire Democrats last month.”

(Video Credit: Mitch McConnell)

U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley of Ohio, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, reportedly announced his decision after President Biden had not nominated a replacement for him, saying, “I have therefore decided to remain on active status and carry out the full duties and obligations of the office.”

In addition, Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn of North Carolina also revoked his retirement plans, which he announced in 2022, according to Reuters. Both judges had reportedly agreed initially to take on “senior status” until a successor was named by Biden – which never happened.

“James Ishida, the circuit executive for the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, told Reuters late Wednesday that Cogburn had decided to remain in active service and sent the White House a letter to that effect,” the outlet reported. “Biden’s inability to fill Cogburn’s seat resulted in a missed opportunity for the Democrat president to extend his efforts to diversify the federal bench to the Western District of North Carolina, which has never had a woman or person of color serve as a life-tenured judge before.”

On Monday, McConnell urged the incoming Trump administration to “explore all available recusal options with these judges.”

“Looking to history, only two judges have ever unretired after a presidential election. One Democrat in 2004 and one Republican in 2009. But now, in just a matter of weeks, Democrats have already met that all-time record. It’s hard to conclude that this is anything other than open partisanship,” McConnell said.

In his remarks from the Senate floor, the GOP leader said the decisions to revoke retirement plans following Trump’s victory amounts to “a political finger on the scale.”

“Never before has a circuit judge unretired after a presidential election. It’s literally unprecedented. And to create such a precedent would fly in the face of a rare bipartisan compromise on the disposition of these vacancies,” McConnell said, warning other judges about making any similar decisions, threatening “significant ethics complaints.”

“As I repeatedly warned the judiciary in other matters, if you play political games, expect political prizes,” he added. “So let’s hope these judges do the right thing and enjoy their well-earned retirement and leave the politics to the political branches.”

McConnell referred to last month’s bipartisan agreement on judicial nominations.

“Republicans agreed to halt procedural delay tactics and permit Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to vote on cloture on nine of Biden’s district court judges before Thanksgiving and vote to confirm them when they return after the holiday,” according to Fox News. “In exchange, Democrats would pull four circuit court nominees who lack the votes to get confirmed, allowing Trump to fill those vacancies next year.”

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.