As a second Trump administration approaches, we’re running out of time to confirm as many federal judges as possible to provide a check on his presidential power and curb his stated policy priorities.
There are 40 federal judicial vacancies and 16 nominations before the Senate right now—as our civil rights hang in the balance, take action now!
Since the Kavanaugh confirmation, we’ve continued to fight for fair-minded judges. Although the sheer number of Trump judges in the pipeline may feel incredibly daunting and hopeless, sometimes we need to sit and relish in our victories. The week after Thanksgiving was slated to be a terrible, horrible no good, very bad week for judicial nominations. But with our tireless advocacy, we were able to block and slow down Trump’s radicalization of the courts.
On deck for confirmation by the full Senate vote this week was Thomas Farr, the anti-democratic, anti-voting rights nominee for Eastern District of North Carolina. His racist voter intimidation tactics in 1984 and 1990 Jesse Helms campaign left us no choice but to build a powerful grassroots effort to oppose Farr. AND IT WORKED.
The messaging was strong enough to sway Republican Tim Scott to oppose Farr and speak up for justice and equality. The only black Republican Senator, Tim Scott voted with his conscience and helped tank the Trump nominee.
This win comes after the Senate Judiciary Committee cancelled this week’ scheduled executive meeting, where 25 judges were slated to be voted out of the committee and to be a step closer to a lifetime appointment onto the federal bench. Senator Flake’s refusal to advance any judicial nominees until a bill to protect Robert Muller is brought to the floor is helping to slow down the Trump Judges train.
These wins are significant, given that the Senate Republican leadership is making judicial nominations its top priority. With a long roster of judges waiting to be confirmed, the battle for the judiciary continues. Let’s push forward and keep up the drum beat.
We are watching. We are fighting. We can win.
