Tell Senate Democrats to fill the 23 vacant judicial seats before Trump and the new Senate take office NOW!

Federal judges are lifetime appointments—time is running out for President Biden and Senate Democrats to fill the 23 judicial vacancies before the new Senate and Trump take office. 

Tell Biden and Senate Democrats: Confirm as many judges as possible before Trump and the new Senate takes office!

Andra,

Maggie from Demand Justice here. I wanted to make sure you saw the email I sent last week. Time is running out for President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats to fill critical judicial vacancies before the new Senate and Donald Trump take office. 

Federal judges are lifetime appointments—and there are currently 23 pending nominations. This is our only opportunity to fill these vacancies with fair and just judges before Trump stacks courts around the country with even more extremists who will jeopardize our freedoms and communities.

Will you join thousands of MoveOn members and add your name to the petition?

In Trump's first presidential term, he confirmed a record number of federal judges and shaped a conservative judiciary with devastating consequences. And in the 2020 lame duck, Trump and Senate Republicans worked fast to confirm 14 judges after Election Day—including Judge Aileen Cannon, who has now unjustly helped shut down the classified documents case that could hold Trump accountable for his crimes.¹

The stakes are too high to wait and let Trump and Senate Republicans fill these judicial vacancies. We must act now.

Senate Democrats must act swiftly and do whatever it takes, including working evenings and weekends, to confirm qualified judges while they still can. Will you sign the petition?

What we do—or don't do—over these next few weeks is going to have an impact on the judiciary for decades to come. The courts should represent all of America, with judges who respect and uphold justice for everyone. Together, we can bring more balance and fairness to this branch of government. But that requires acting boldly and ensuring our elected officials fill all the vacancies they can. 

Click here to add your name and urge President Biden and Senate Democrats to do whatever it takes to prioritize confirming judges now!

Thanks for all you do. 

–Maggie Jo Buchanan, Managing Director at Demand Justice

P.S. See our email below from last week on why these judicial confirmations are so important and why we need them to be the focus during the lame duck. 

Source:

1. "Trump demands the lame-duck president not do what he did as a lame duck," The Washington Post, November 13, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/198926?t=6&akid=416984%2E53570607%2E9Hj2e-

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Will you sign the petition to urge President Biden and the Senate to confirm as many judges as possible in these next four weeks?

Dear MoveOn member,

We are preparing now for a Donald Trump presidency. We know that the worst and most unconstitutional policies he will try to pass will be battled out through the courts—and so does Trump. That's why in his last term, Trump stacked the courts—appointing more than 200 judges to the federal bench.² And he's poised to do the same thing come January 2025.

Let's be clear: Trump's nominees have, and will continue to, put in place policies that are contrary to the values of the American people.

With only a few weeks left before the new Congress and incoming Trump administration, it is now more urgent than ever that Democratic senators do whatever it takes to confirm judges in the lame duck.

Right now, there are 29 judicial nominees awaiting Senate confirmation votes. We have to act urgently to confirm as many judges as possible. Will you add your name to the petition and urge President Biden and the U.S. Senate to take action NOW to fill current vacancies in the federal courts before Trump takes office?

Demand President Biden and the U.S. Senate to do whatever it takes to confirm judicial vacancies immediately!

In just four years, President Biden and the Senate have confirmed 215 judicial nominees—including historic Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The majority of these appointments were women and people of color, increasing the racial diversity of the federal courts.³ But with Trump poised to take over the White House in just a couple of months, we have to work quickly to fill all vacant judicial positions before Trump and Senate Republicans start stacking the courts with extremists again.

The Senate needs to be creative in their efforts. Whether it's working weekends or staying late–judges must be a priority. Add your name to the petition to urge Congress to work swiftly!

Over the next four years, roughly 250 circuit and district court judges are, or will become, eligible to take a form of semi-retirement which allows them to be replaced. On top of the current and known future vacancies in states with two Republican senators, there is a very real chance that Trump will get to appoint another 200+ lower-court judges. Not to mention the fact that, depending on retirements at the highest level of our judicial system, he will also likely get to appoint at least two more Supreme Court justices.⁴ A next Trump presidency is going to dramatically shape the courts for decades to come.

The negative impact Trump's appointments will have on our rights and freedoms cannot be understated. We've already seen the damage the current Trump justices and judges have unleashed on our civil rights. All three Trump Supreme Court justices were part of the majority in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.⁵ And Trump's circuit court judges have repeatedly authored or joined anti-worker opinions, including cases which made it harder to file discrimination claims.⁶

This is our last chance to act to confirm judges who will help protect our fundamental rights and serve as the last line of defense to uphold our nation's laws and the Constitution.

Add your name to the petition, and then share with three friends to help spread the word and put pressure on President Biden and the Senate to act NOW.

Thanks for all you do. 

–Maggie Jo Buchanan, Managing Director at Demand Justice

Sources:

2. "How Trump compares with other recent presidents in appointing federal judges," Pew Research Center, January 13, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/194378?t=13&akid=416984%2E53570607%2E9Hj2e-

3. "US Senate Democrats rush to confirm judges before Trump takes office," Reuters, November 12, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/198883?t=15&akid=416984%2E53570607%2E9Hj2e-

4. "Trump's justices decisive in long campaign to overturn Roe v. Wade," Reuters, June 24, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/198884?t=17&akid=416984%2E53570607%2E9Hj2e-

5. "Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears: The Continuing Harm Caused by Confirmed Trump Federal Judges," People For, April 5, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/198882?t=19&akid=416984%2E53570607%2E9Hj2e-

6. Ibid.

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