President Biden is actually way ahead of Trump when it comes to judges
There’s a popular line among political pundits that Democrats need to behave more like Republicans and be ruthless with what power they have – but like most things that end up repeated, it’s not quite accurate, and many of the people who parrot it don’t understand the nuances underneath it. Sure, Democrats should wield however much power they have while they have it where it means influential legislation they can pass – and for the most part, they have used their power and gotten some important bills in the House and Senate passed rather easily, even beyond the American Rescue Plan. Now, President Biden and the Senate under Chuck Schumer is taking another critical step that you probably haven’t heard about.
They’ve already appointed 2 federal judges already, which according to a good portion of Twitter isn’t being fast enough – but there’s an important piece of information left out. On Tuesday, President Biden announced his fourth slate of judicial nominees – making it a total of 24 nominees he brought forth in less than five months of his presidency. This is important because it’s the most nominees any president has put forth this early in their term since President Reagan, 40 years ago – whose legacy still continues to shape the country in a number of ways that make it more difficult to implement the policies America needs.
When it comes time to implement infrastructure and critical voting rights laws, the Senate not only needs to pass it, but the process becomes meaningless if some conservative judges not even approved of by the American Bar Association can just strike the changes down after they become law. This is a crucial step in the right direction – appointing the bench with an array of qualified and diverse nominees, as the president continues to make good on his campaign promises.
It also helps to remember that Republicans didn’t get away with everything when they had Congress – they lost some pretty consequential battles – due in part to your help by fighting to protect the Affordable Care Act. It’s also because their agenda is more about repealing programs that work instead of coming up with ways to help, and why they shouldn’t be trusted with power again.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making