The fight over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh wasn’t the end of the Republican push to fill federal courts with conservatives.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave Democrats an ultimatum: immediately accept 15 new conservative judges nominated by President Trump… or be forced to sit in Washington until November 1 to confirm them one-by-one.
Democrats ultimately chose to accept all of the new judges, so their vulnerable members could go home to campaign.
Republicans, for their part, couldn’t believe the Democrats actually fell for it.
“I am surprised,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). “The difficulty they have is an angry base after the Kavanaugh confirmation, and trying to explain to them this is a necessary thing to do.” He praised Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for being able to get everyone onboard: “That’s why Sen. Schumer gets paid the big bucks.”
Only one Democrat vocally came out against the deal: Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
McConnell and President Trump ill now have confirmed 84 judges over the past two years, including Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
