In reversal, Thune seeks to slow down Biden's judicial nominees

Senate Democrats are expected to dedicate hours of floor time in the coming weeks as part of a last-minute effort to confirm as many of President Joe Biden's nominees to the federal judiciary before President-elect Donald Trump takes over in January -- yet Senate Republicans thwarted their efforts late Monday night, a plan from their soon-to-be leader Sen. John Thune and a reversal from his previous stance on blocking confirmations of qualified judicial nominees.

Senate Republicans rebelled late Monday night, dragging out the floor process by forcing Democrats to hold time-consuming votes on procedural motions that are usually routine and otherwise mundane. Actions that should have taken minutes on the floor instead took hours.

Thune, who takes over as Republican leader of the Senate in January, took credit for the rebellion saying in a statement that Republicans would not "roll over" to appoint Biden's nominees to the federal bench in the "final weeks of the Democrat majority."

"If Sen. Schumer thought Senate Republicans would just roll over and allow him to quickly confirm multiple Biden-appointed judges to lifetime jobs in the final weeks of the Democrat majority, he thought wrong," Thune said in a statement to ABC News.

Thune's statement vowing to obstruct the judicial confirmation process in the final hours of the Biden presidency is a departure from comments he made just a few years ago toward the end of Trump's administration. At the time, Thune touted the importance of confirming judges to the bench, saying it was "one of our most important responsibilities as senators" and one of the main reasons he ran for the Senate.

"Mr. President, confirming good judges is one of our most important responsibilities as senators. And it's a responsibility I take very seriously," Thune said during a floor speech on Nov. 18 2020 -- after Biden won the election.

"After George W. Bush's election, Democrats decided that the president's judicial nominees might not deliver the results Democrats wanted. And so, they decided to adopt a new strategy -- blocking judicial nominees on a regular basis," Thune said during his remarks in 2020. "I was one of the many Americans upset by the blockade of talented, well-qualified nominees. And it was one of the main reasons I ran for the Senate. I promised South Dakotans that if they elected me, I would help put outstanding judges on the bench."

"In fact, one of the main reasons I was first elected to the Senate was to make sure outstanding judicial nominees were confirmed to the federal bench. It's hard to imagine now, but confirming judges used to be a pretty bipartisan affair," Thune said at the time.

His comments from 2020 are a notable reversal from his comments this week, as Senate Republicans look to obstruct Democrats as they attempt to do the same for Biden.

Schumer though, doubled down on his efforts Tuesday, and said he expects the Senate to work late into the night again this Wednesday to get the nominees through. Senate Democrats are hoping to confirm as many judges to lifetime appointments as they can while Biden is still president.

"Members should be prepared for another late night on Wednesday to vote on the nominations I filed last night," Schumer warned.

"Voting on the president's judicial nominees is a core function of the Senate. It's one of our basic responsibilities, and we're going to carry out that responsibility as long as this majority continues. I'm very proud of the judges we've confirmed over the past four years under this administration, they have all been highly qualified individuals, and together, they represent a wide range of experiences and areas of expertise."

Schumer touted the quality of judges the Senate has passed under his leadership, noting their many backgrounds and cultures and identities. He said under his watch, the Senate has confirmed a record number of women and people of color to the federal bench.

Republicans have Democrats' record on judicial confirmations beat.

Republicans confirmed 234 of Trump's nominees to the federal courts during his four years in office, and so far the Democrat-controlled Senate has confirmed 216 under Biden's administration.

"We're not done," Schumer said on the floor Tuesday. "There are more judges to consider and confirm."

Schumer vowed to spend the rest of the week -- and the year -- confirming more judges. Every judge confirmed in this lame-duck session of Congress is one fewer vacancy Trump can fill come January.