I'm gonna stop tweeting updates on this because the #s keeps changing, but since this story pubbed last Thursday, 6 more federal judges have announced retirement plans, meaning they hung so Biden could pick their replacements, not Trump. huffpost.com/entry/federal-…
Of the 6 federal judges who have announced retirement plans since last Thursday:
4 are Obama appointments
1 is a GWB appointment
1 is a Clinton appointment
Biden currently has 49 vacancies to fill on U.S. district courts and 4 vacancies to fill on U.S. appeals courts.
But court seats are opening up fairly rapidly right now, here on Day 12 of Biden's presidency.
These are all lifetime appointments.
Biden hasn't nominated any judges yet.
But his team has signaled they're ready to move. In late December, White House counsel Dana Remus told Democratic senators to send him recs for district court nominees ASAP, and no later than Jan. 19. huffpost.com/entry/joe-bide…
And in a win for progressives (and really, for the courts and for you, too), Biden specifically wants recs for judicial nominees who are diverse, not just in terms of race or gender, but professionally.
Think public defenders + civil rights attys, not just more corporate attys.
"We are particularly focused on nominating individuals whose legal experiences have been historically underrepresented ... including those who are public defenders, civil rights + legal aid attorneys, + those who represent Americans in every walk of life." huffpost.com/entry/joe-bide…
The White House counsel's letter to Democratic senators urging immediate and diverse recommendations for judicial nominees is in here. huffpost.com/entry/joe-bide…
Of all the federal judges who have announced retirement plans since Biden won in November:
9 are Clinton appointees
6 are GWB appointees
6 are Obama appointees
(These numbers will probably be different in 24 hours.)
Also the first tweet in this thread should say hung ON.
BLAH.
🙏
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What's interesting about House GOP Whip Steve Scalise accusing Biden of abandoning bipartisanship as he moves forward with his agenda is that there was a Capitol insurrection a few weeks ago and a few hours after it Steve Scalise still voted to overturn the election.
Has Steve Scalise forgotten about this already?
That time when he and 146 other Republicans voted to overturn the election based on the same lies that fueled a pro-Trump mob to attack the Capitol and search for lawmakers to kill to stop them from certifying Biden's win?
Yeah, that happened. Remember that?
Remember how 5 people died? And then 2 officers who defended the Capitol that day died by suicide?
Here are the names of all 147 of those Republicans who voted to overturn the election , even *after* the insurrection. huffpost.com/entry/republic…
NEW: A spate of federal judges are retiring now that Joe Biden will pick their replacements huffpost.com/entry/federal-…
Since last Weds, when Biden was sworn in, at least 7 federal judges have announced retirement plans.
Some barely waited a day after Biden was inaugurated. Or even hours.
Got a coupla letters in here from judges announcing resignations. This one made me laugh.
“It has been my honor to serve." -- Judge Victoria Roberts to Biden, 90 *minutes* after he was sworn in, announcing she was taking senior status. Adios! huffpost.com/entry/federal-…
Chuck Schumer plugs the idea of adding more seats to federal courts (district and appeals courts).
On Maddow:
It's a good time to do this.
The Judicial Conference (nonpartisan, oversees U.S. courts) recommended last year that Congress create 5 new judgeships on the 9th circuit + 65 new judgeships on district courts. They need help with caseloads.
Congress hasn't passed a major judgeship bill since 1990.
Since then, case filings in appeals courts grew by 15% by the end of 2018, according to the Judicial Conference. In district courts, case filings had gone up by 39%.
Days after a Capitol insurrection that left 5 people dead, and as we learn of domestic terrorism threats ahead of inauguration, I still can't wrap my head around House Republicans having a full-blown tantrum about having to walk through a metal detector. huffpost.com/entry/house-re…
What is going on here?
At best, these GOP lawmakers are embarrassingly entitled.
At worst, they’re sneaking guns onto the House floor and don't want to get caught -- and terrifying their colleagues in the meantime.
These are actual quotes from House Republicans reacting to have to walk through a metal detector to get onto the House floor.
“Horse shit!”
“You are creating a problem you do not understand the ramifications of!”
The 147 Republicans who still voted to overturn the election results after the Capitol insurrection. huffpost.com/entry/republic…
I still can't wrap my head around this.
Hours after Trump incited his supporters to violently storm the Capitol, with plans to kill Nancy Pelosi and others, 147 GOP lawmakers still voted to overturn the election -- citing the same lies about fraud fueling the rioters.
There will be so many investigations into the violence and terror unleashed at the Capitol on Wednesday.
But one of the most egregious attacks on democracy happened in plain sight and requires no investigation. It was these 147 lawmakers' votes. huffpost.com/entry/republic…