Three federal judges appointed by Democrats have revised their retirement decisions in anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, while a fourth judge was cautioned on the Senate floor not to follow suit, according to The Washington Post.
In a rare move, the judges have retracted their declarations of senior status, a form of semi-retirement that typically creates vacancies on the courts. This decision has sparked criticism from key Republicans, who argue that it prevents Trump from filling those seats immediately. Trump’s first term saw significant efforts to shift the judiciary to the right, and legal experts view the judges’ actions as part of the ongoing political maneuvering over the federal court system, where lifetime appointments and judicial rulings can influence policy for decades.
The timing of these moves is notable as Senate Democrats rushed to confirm as many of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees as possible before a Republican-majority Senate is seated early next year. This rush comes amid expectations that Trump will soon begin nominating his own candidates for judicial vacancies.