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Biden moves quickly to make his mark on federal courts after Trump’s record judicial nominations
By Ann E. Marimow and Matt Viser
Feb. 3, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. EST
President Biden’s top advisers have spent months building an extensive pipeline of judicial nominees to fill court vacancies throughout the country, attempting to swiftly remake portions of the judiciary and undo one of his predecessor’s most significant achievements.
President Donald Trump dramatically reshaped the courts over his four-year term with a record pace of nominations, and now Biden — who took part in hundreds of confirmations as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee — is eager to leave his mark with nominees of his own.
More than a third of judges nationwide serving on federal appeals courts one level below the Supreme Court are eligible to step back from active service. With Democrats narrowly controlling the Senate — and with the prospect that they could lose control during the 2022 midterms — Biden intends to move quickly to fill openings that arise on courts affecting significant policies, including environmental regulations, gun laws and immigration.
The fledgling administration already has at least five circuit court openings to fill. More are expected soon as a wave of retirements or judges taking lighter caseloads comes through, including from those who stayed active through Trump’s tenure to avoid having him name their successors.
Top officials in the Biden administration say they are placing far more emphasis on judicial nominations and plan to fill slots faster than Democrats have in the past. At the Supreme Court, the administration could face the retirement of Justice Stephen G. Breyer, 82, a potential vacancy Biden has vowed to fill with a Black woman. And even as Biden signs a burst of executive orders and presses for a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, senior administration officials view judicial nominees as one area where the president will invest early political capital.
Trump’s conservative imprint on the federal judiciary gives Democrats a playbook — if they win
“People are approaching this with a different sense of urgency,” said deputy White House counsel Paige Herwig, a former Senate staffer who was associate counsel to President Barack Obama and is leading the new administration’s effort. “And they understand. They saw what the Trump administration did for four years.”
more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/biden-judge-nominations/2021/02/02/e9932f3a-6189-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html
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