President Biden and Senate Democrats have fallen behind the rapid pace set by Republicans in shaping the federal courts during the Trump era, but they have made fresh headway in advancing judicial nominees in states represented by Republicans.
By negotiating with Republicans over judicial picks, Biden and majority Democrats have been able to exert some influence over the makeup of trial courts in red states and install people of color on the bench for the first time in some regions.
“It has worked because I think I have convinced the White House that it is better to get a moderate Republican today than a MAGA Republican tomorrow,” said Senator Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who chairs the Judiciary Committee.
Still, the Senate would need to confirm at least 63 more judges this year to match or better the record of the Trump years, when Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky who was then the majority leader, pushed through 234 conservative-leaning jurists, including three to the Supreme Court.
some of those republican senators might be smart enough to realize that a statewide election can be more difficult to survive than in a gerrymandered legislative district.