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 use 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 at the beginning of 2025.
The Senate earlier in the week confirmed seven other U.S. district judge nominations by President Joe Biden. 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 currently hold a 51–49 voting majority. 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 in a recent deal, GOP leaders promised not to delay the confirmation of 13 judges nominated to district courts, and in return, Democrats vowed 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 fewer than 50 votes. Murphy received only 47 votes, but just 45 senators opposed him. Sinema and Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Angus King (I-Maine), James Risch (R-Neb.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), 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 Dec. 5 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.