Republicans fume as GOP absences help Democrats move judicial nominees
by Al Weaver - 11/19/24 6:01 PM ET
Senate Republicans aired frustrations Tuesday after Vice President-elect Vance and other party members skipped votes Monday, greasing the skids for Democratic-backed judicial nominees to be greenlighted as part of a final push to fill the bench with lifetime appointees before President-elect Trump takes office.
Republicans on Monday attempted to slow down an effort by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to advance more than a dozen judicial nominees, which Democrats have prioritized before ceding power at year’s end.
However, they were unable to stop them as a handful of their GOP colleagues did not show up to the Capitol for votes, which stretched until close to midnight.
Headlining that group were Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), President-elect Trump’s choice to lead the State Department, angering GOP members during their weekly Tuesday policy luncheon.
“If we don’t show up, we lose,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who was visibly frustrated by the lack of attendance and spoke out at lunch. “I don’t care what the reasons were. We have fewer than 15 scheduled legislative days. You have to show up. Period. End of story. There’s nothing more important.”
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4998960-senate-republicans-frustrated-judicial-nominees-vance/
