WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Senate Democrats are trying to confirm as many federal judges and nominees as possible before they lose the majority next month, but they face several hurdles.
“The yes votes are 49, the no votes are 50. The motion is not approved,” said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.).
Democrats hit a roadblock Wednesday in their efforts to maintain a Democratic majority on the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB handles disputes between unions and enormous corporations.
Two outgoing senators and former Democrats, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, were the deciding votes to block Speaker Lauren McFerran, to the disappointment of Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
“You can’t say you’re pro working families and then vote no today because the NLRB protects workers from workplace mistreatment and employers taking advantage of them,” Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.
Now President-elect Donald Trump and the Senate, which will be controlled by the Republican Party, can confirm their own nominees.
The stalled confirmation comes as Democrats race to confirm as many of President Biden’s nominees as federal judges as possible.
“This may be the busiest committee in the Senate,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
On the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Dick Durbin and his Democratic colleagues nominated two more judges on Thursday, adding to the already sizable number.
“We advanced 373 nominees to the full Senate, including 242 judicial nominees,” Durbin said.
All Republicans were against the candidates.
“The judges they are recommending at this point are simply completely unqualified,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.).
Missouri Republican Senator Eric Schmitt says he disagrees with many of the recommendations and looks forward to seeing the justices’ proposals put forward by President-elect Trump.
“I look forward to working with him in selecting judges who actually want to see the law and decide how the law was written and how they want it to be now,” Schmitt said.
