The Resistance We Need From Senate Democrats Under Trump 2.0
This excerpt is from a piece by Keith Thirion that originally ran in Democracy Docket on January 14, 2025.
Any confirmation that is delayed could be a future confirmation that is blocked. Senate Republicans have spent the past four years manipulating Senate procedures to stop Biden’s judges. That included denying blue slips to nominees from their own selection commissions and forcing nearly 20 procedural votes in one night to delay what should have been a smooth process to invoke cloture on a slate of judges.
Republicans have set an example, and Democrats must play by the exact same set of rules once used against them. Every tool, even those we might otherwise oppose, must be used to stop or slow down the confirmation of Trump judges.
That means showing up for every vote — both in committee and on the floor — to make sure confirmations can’t just sail through and to force Senate Republicans to secure every last vote for confirmations to succeed.
That means showing up to hearings and asking nominees tough questions about their records and using public platforms to speak out against them.
That means asking questions for the record after hearings and forcing Republicans to carry over nominations for future markups until those questions are answered in full.
That means not making any deals on vacancies to get a few moderate judges in exchange for supporting extreme Trump picks.
That means carefully documenting and transparently sharing what White House consultation on nominations from senators’ home states looks like, if it exists at all, to dispel any false claims of good faith negotiations.
That means using blue slips — which, though problematic, are a tradition Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has said he will maintain on the Senate Judiciary Committee — at every opportunity to prevent unqualified nominations from moving forward.
That means voting against any measure to add seats to the lower courts that could be filled during the Trump administration, because while some courts may be struggling with capacity, they are still better off without Trump judges issuing harmful rulings.
That means using every Senate procedural tool available to delay and block votes on the floor to limit how many confirmations can get through over the course of the term.
That means dedicating resources to finding diverse, highly qualified movement lawyers who will be prepared to fill judicial vacancies under an administration more friendly to the safety and security of all people.
Every single nominee who doesn’t get through is one fewer Matthew Kacsmaryk ready to impose a harmful conservative agenda, one fewer Aileen Cannon who would prop up Trump’s abuses of power, one fewer Neomi Rao who blamed sexual assault survivors for the violence committed against them or one fewer James Ho who stands ready to undermine the U.S. Constitution out of loyalty to Trump.