On Tuesday, Republicans criticized JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and several others for their absence from the Senate chamber, which permitted Democrats to swiftly advance significant judicial appointments from the Biden administration.
Among the absentees were Vance (R-OH), the vice president-elect, and Rubio (R-FL), nominated by Donald Trump for secretary of State, but they were particularly targeted in the backlash.
When questioned regarding the absence of multiple GOP senators who had the power to impede President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) expressed his frustration.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” he remarked to reporters at the Capitol. “There’s really no justification for this; our responsibility is to be present and cast our votes.”
The Wall Street Journal‘s editorial board harshly criticized the missing Republicans for allowing Democrats to secure a triumph during this lame duck period, specifically highlighting Monday’s confirmation of a nominee for the appellate court who, as the WSJ pointed out, “will now receive a lifetime position on the federal bench because Republicans failed to have their complete roster present.”
The editorial referenced a now-deleted tweet from Vance, stating he was occupied meeting with Trump discussing candidates for several roles, including the FBI Director position meant to succeed Chris Wray, a notable target of Trump.
“It’s great to know he’s engaged in a job that starts in January, just two months away,” the Journal’s editorial board commented. “However, a few acceptable excuses from the GOP can result in a lifetime seat on the bench. Republican Senators must fulfill their obligations during the lame duck session and vote. Any judicial vacancy left unfilled now will fall to Mr. Trump to address with his own nominee.”
On Tuesday, Vance was absent for the procedural vote that set the stage for one of President Joe Biden’s judicial candidates. While he returned later to oppose the confirmation of the judge, other Republican senators’ absences rendered his vote ineffective.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was also among those missing, participating with others alongside President-elect Donald Trump in Texas to witness billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch.
The absence of GOP senators allowed the confirmation of Mustafa Taher Kasubhai as a U.S. District Court judge in Oregon with a vote of 51 to 44. Senators who did not cast their votes included Cruz, Rubio, Mike Braun of Indiana, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee.
The lack of attendance by Republican senators, which facilitated Biden’s judicial nominee’s advancement, generated significant frustration within the online MAGA community.
“If we don’t make it to the session, we will lose,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) admonished his fellow senators on Tuesday. “I’m indifferent to the reasons. We have fewer than 15 scheduled legislative days remaining. Attendance is a must. End of discussion. There’s nothing else that compares.”
Just hours before, Trump had urged Senate Republicans to “appear and maintain our stance” to thwart additional liberal judges from being confirmed during the final days of Democratic leadership in the Senate.
The new GOP-majority Congress will commence on Jan. 3, 2025, shortly before Trump is set to take office as the 47th president of the United States.
Democrats, spearheaded by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, are determined to confirm as many Biden nominees to the federal judiciary as they can before ceding power. On Tuesday, they successfully outmaneuvered the Republicans.
“We saw some of these judges defeated as decisively as Woodrow Wilson would,” remarked Kennedy from Louisiana, “yet our votes were absent.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also expressed his disappointment over the Senate Republicans’ blunder in allowing a Democratic nominee from Florida to be confirmed on Monday for a position on the Atlanta-based Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
The judge, Embry Kidd, was confirmed with a vote of 49 to 45 for the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, even as Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) joined Republicans in opposition to his nomination.
