Senate Democrats rush to confirm judges before Trump takes office

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation as the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, as Jackson stands at his side during a celebration event in 2022 on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)

The U.S. Senate’s Democratic majority began a crusade on Tuesday to confirm as many new federal judges nominated by President Joe Biden as possible to avoid leaving vacancies that Republican Donald Trump could fill after taking office on Jan. 20. With Republicans set to take control of the chamber on Jan. 3, the Senate is set on Tuesday to hold a confirmation vote on one of Biden’s judicial nominees - former prosecutor April Perry - for the first time since Trump won the Nov. 5 presidential election. Perry was nominated by the Democratic president to serve as a U.S. district court judge in Illinois.