Trump urges Senate action on nominees as count remains unclear

The 9 November Truth Social post, preserved by the Trump’s Truth archive, did not name the nominees or explain how they were counted.

Republicans control the Senate until January, when Democrats will take over following their midterm election victory. The Associated Press reports that Democrats will hold at least 54 of the 100 seats, giving them the power to block nominations. District and circuit court judges can serve for life, so their appointments may shape the courts beyond Trump’s term.

Before Trump’s post, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told AP that his party would not allow what he called “crappy nominees” in the federal judiciary or Cabinet.

What the figures show

A Senate snapshot listed 32 civilian nominations on the executive calendar, the list for possible consideration by the full chamber. It does not include nominations still in committee. Three of the 32 were district or circuit court nominees.

The Senate’s committee lists showed another 13 district or circuit nominees and four candidates for the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. On 9 November, the White House said it had sent 22 nominations to the Senate, including five for district and circuit courts and three for Washington, DC’s Superior Court. Its announcement did not say when the Senate received them.

Adding the five district and circuit nominees to the 20 candidates in the Senate lists produces 25. But that is only one possible calculation. It counts the veterans’ court candidates while excluding a Tax Court nominee and the three DC Superior Court picks. It also assumes the five counted when Trump posted and that the other 20 were pending at that time.

Legal publication Balls and Strikes separately counted 23 district and circuit nominees, including two candidates absent from those Senate lists and the White House’s 9 November announcement. Its figure covers a different group.

Two trackers give different figures for civilian nominations overall. ChamberLight listed 156 awaiting action in a separate snapshot; PORKER listed 230 using data collected on 8 November. The latter included at least five nominations that Senate records show had already been withdrawn. The dates and errors mean neither count establishes whether Trump’s total was right or wrong when he posted.

A Judiciary Committee nomination hearing was scheduled for 10 November. Under Senate rules, nominations still pending at the end of a session are normally returned to the president unless senators unanimously agree otherwise. Trump can submit them again, but once the new Congress begins in January, they would face a Democratic-led Senate.