White House pushes back on Trump call to halt confirmations in lame duck period

Source: The Hill

11/11/24 4:13 PM ET


A White House spokesperson on Monday pushed back on President-elect Trump’s demand that the Democratic Senate stop confirming judges during the lame-duck period before he takes office and the upper chamber flips to GOP control.

Senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates in a statement pointed to past precedent and the “real-life toll” such a pause would take on constituents to reject Trump’s request, which he posted over the weekend on social media.

“Regardless of party, the American people expect their leaders to prioritize the rule of law and ensuring the criminal justice system can function effectively in every state,” Bates said in a statement to The Hill. “Delaying the confirmation of strongly qualified, experienced judges takes a real-life toll on constituents and leads to backlogs of criminal cases — meaning there is every urgent reason for Republicans and Democrats to continue working together in good faith to staff the federal bench.”

Bates noted that the then-GOP-led Senate confirmed 55 nominee during the lame duck period of Trump’s first term after President Biden had won the 2020 election, including 18 judges. “There is no excuse for choosing partisanship over enforcing the rule of law,” Bates said.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4984559-white-house-trump-lame-duck-judicial-confirmations-senate/