Senate Confirms 8 Biden-Appointed Judges as End of Term Looms

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Democrats are set to lose the Senate and the White House in 2025.

The U.S. Senate on Dec. 5 confirmed the eighth judge this week, as Democrats race to utilize the remaining days of their majority.

Senators in a 52–45 vote confirmed Sarah Morgan Davenport as a U.S. district judge in New Mexico.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined all Democrats and independents present in voting in favor of Davenport’s judicial confirmation.

Democrats have control of the upper chamber, but not for much longer. Republicans flipped the Senate in the November elections, and the new Congress is slated to be sworn in just after the New Year.

The Senate earlier in the week confirmed seven other individuals nominated by President Joe Biden to be U.S. district judges. Senators confirmed Anne Hwang to serve in central California, Brian Edward Murphy to serve in Massachusetts, Sparkle L. Sooknanan to serve in Washington, Catherine Henry and Gail A. Weilheimer to serve in eastern Pennsylvania, and Anthony J. Brindisi and Elizabeth C. Coombe to serve in northern New York.

Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) often voted with Democrats to confirm the nominees. Collins voted for Hwang and Coombe, while Murkowski voted for Coombe. No other Republicans voted for any of those who were nominated.

Democrats hold a 51–49 voting majority at present. There are four senators who are independents, but all, like Manchin, typically vote with Democrats.

A confirmation vote requires only a simple majority. A tie can be broken by Vice President Kamala Harris as president of the Senate, if she is available to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Republicans can delay confirmation votes if they employ certain tactics, but recently reached a deal that saw GOP leaders promise not to delay the confirmation of 13 judges nominated to district courts in return for Democrats vowing not to confirm four other nominees to circuit courts.

Republicans have not been able to muster enough votes to block nominees even in recent instances when Democrats had far less than 50 votes. Murphy only received 47 votes, but just 45 senators opposed him. Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Angus King (I-Maine), James Risch (R-Neb.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sinema, and JD Vance (R-Ohio), the vice president-elect, missed that vote.

Vance has said he is busy with transition work.

“I’m disappointed that all the people on my side of the aisle wouldn’t show up to vote,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) previously told The Epoch Times. “I’m very disappointed. Some of these nominations were dead as Woodrow Wilson if we had all of our people show up to vote.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor on Thursday that senators were “working to confirm as many of President Biden’s well-qualified judicial nominees as possible.”

He added later: “While Democrats still hold a majority, we’re going to do everything we can to confirm as many judges as we can.”

Arjun Singh contributed to this report.