PEDAL TO THE JUDICIAL METAL Senate Democrats only have three weeks left of session before the November election as they try to outpace former President Donald Trump’s judicial confirmations. Given their dubious chances at holding the chamber, a sense of urgency is starting to set in. President Joe Biden headed into the August recess in a dead heat with Trump’s record in the first week of August in 2020 — 205 judicial confirmations apiece. But Democrats could struggle to close a gap in the final months, as they seek to deliver on promises to remake and diversify the federal judiciary and sense their time is running out due to their brutal 2024 map. Part of the challenge for Biden and Democrats in hitting Trump’s mark of 234 confirmations is there are currently just 47 vacancies throughout the federal court system, and just one is an appeals court slot. But Trump was able to rack up three-dozen additional confirmations in the final months of his term with Democratic cooperation, a fact Democrats point to as reason that the GOP should help them to clear the decks this time around. “You know, we gave [Trump] a gift at the end, the package deal in December [2020],” said Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “I hope the Republicans are considering the same option.” Durbin said he’s been proud of the pace so far, given Democrats’ incredibly narrow Senate majority, and vowed to keep it up. “There's a lot of pressure and we've responded to it, I think, in a remarkable way … We want to continue to until the end of the year.” It’s about more than votes: Another factor impacting the number of picks that can be considered will be the use of so-called ‘blue slips,’ a Senate tradition that effectively gives home-state senators a veto over district court selections. States with large numbers of unfilled slots include Texas (5), California (5) and Missouri (4) — with the Show-Me State not yet having nominated a Biden judge. Deeply blue California has already seen the confirmation of more than two-dozen Biden judges, but bipartisan cooperation has extended to conservative states like Texas (3), Florida (4), Ohio (4) and plenty more. Overall, most lawmakers think the current blue-slip practices are working well — many credited Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for easing the confirmation process. “It is a little bit frustrating with these Senate procedural rules that turn a pretty simple, straightforward process into a time-consuming ordeal,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), another member of the Judiciary Committee, conceded. “I’d like to be able to have votes on all the qualified people that come before us. [But] I do appreciate that, by and large, Sen. Graham has been helpful in trying to move things along.” Durbin was not inclined to change the status quo either: “We have a decent experience to justify blue slips.” Overall, Biden judges have enjoyed a fairly smooth path to confirmation — albeit with a few notable exceptions. A New Hampshire nominee to an appeals court seat withdrew in May 2023 amid concerns with his defense of a school in a civil lawsuit over sexual assault, while the confirmation of Adeel Mangi — also up for an appeals court spot — appears moribund due to Democratic opposition. The White House did not respond to request for comment. But at least some more confirmations are on the horizon. One of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s final acts before breaking the chamber of its summer break? Moving to end debate on two more federal judicial nominees. “I'm interested in filling all of the judicial vacancies,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), a member of the Judiciary Committee. “I'm not necessarily looking at ‘Oh, we have to beat Trump.’ That's not my focus.” — Anthony Adragna and Katherine Tully-McManus, with an assist from Ursula Perano GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Aug. 19, and can someone bring us back some tasty Chicago food on the other side of the DNC? All this food talk has us Washington-stranded folk hungry! ATTRACTIONS OUTSIDE THE DNC? It isn’t just on the convention floor where lawmakers and groups are trying to get their messages across as the Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday.
- Americans for Contraception have installed a 20-foot inflatable IUD — dubbed “Freeda Womb” — near the convention site.
- The DNC itself displayed “Project 2025 HQ” onto Trump Tower in Chicago. A spokesperson wouldn’t tip if additional projections would occur throughout the convention.
- The American Exploration & Production Council has billboards reading “Our Democracy — powered by American oil and natural gas” posted at 58 spots throughout Chicago. Nick also spotted ads from the American Petroleum Institute as he arrived at Midway Airport.
- A coalition of groups consisting of thousands of protesters are rallying in support of Palestine — but also for LGBTQ rights, in support of unions and against police violence — throughout the convention. “The city of Chicago is really good at things like this,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said Monday. “We are ready.” (Durbin admitted to being nervous ahead of time.)
- The NRCC has a mobile billboard going after five vulnerable Democratic incumbents — Yadira Caraveo (Colo.), Matt Cartwright (Pa.), Jared Golden (Maine), Mary Peltola (Alaska) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) — who are not attending the gathering.
— Anthony Adragna, with an assist from Nicholas Wu in Chicago AOC’S BIG MOMENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — one of the most prominent progressives and one of the faces of a new generation of Democratic leaders — has nabbed a primetime speaking slot for Monday’s DNC. The prominent speech, scheduled for the 9 p.m. hour by the New York Democrat, comes as she’s steadily transformed from the ultimate insurgent — who stunned the political world in 2018 by dethroning then-Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a primary shocker — to an unabashed progressive squad member who’s still a team player. “I love meeting people from all different parts of the country — and to have everyone from Puerto Rico to Alabama all in one room, learning about each other, talking to each other, that’s my favorite part about this,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a video posted Monday. Monday’s speech stands in sharp contrast to 2020 when AOC got just 90 seconds for remarks during that year’s DNC. Vibes are good among Democrats, Nick has seen from the ground in Chicago, with the party seemingly burying ideological divides and rallying around Harris in pursuit of defeating Trump this November. And AOC’s inclusion on stage — along with a host of other lawmakers — is part of the united front the party is trying to project on its opening night as Biden passes the torch. Other prominent congressional Democrats with speaking slots on Monday include: Reps. Lauren Underwood (Ill.), Robert Garcia (Calif.), Jim Clyburn (S.C.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), Jasmine Crockett (Texas) and Grace Meng (N.Y.), as well as Sens. Chris Coons (Del.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.). — Anthony Adragna, with an assist from Nicholas Wu in Chicago
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