WASHINGTON — Six Senate Republicans are threatening to try and block consideration of key nominees by President Joe Biden in protest of a jury in New York state court finding Donald Trump guilty on 34 felony counts.
The conservative senators say in a new letter that they “will not allow the fast-tracking of any Biden Article III court judicial nominees, as well as Biden U.S. attorney nominations.”
The threat is unlikely to have much practical impact as the six senators regularly vote against Biden nominees to be judges and prosecutors and already tend to oppose agreements to fast-track them. Judicial nominees are rarely fast-tracked and don’t require GOP votes to be confirmed in the Democratic-controlled chamber. Still, the move represents a political desire to show devotion to Trump as he marches to a third successive presidential nomination and faces a rematch with Biden this fall.
The signatories are Sens. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Mike Lee, R-Utah, Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. They say the letter is in “response to the current administration’s persecution of President Donald Trump.”
They didn’t provide evidence that Biden had involvement in the New York prosecution, which is a state matter that isn’t overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Vance, the first signatory on the letter, is a potential vice presidential prospect for Trump. All are Trump allies. Many other Trump allies in the Senate didn’t sign the letter.
Their statement points to a new litmus test for Republicans, one that could come up during future confirmation hearings and potentially pressure other GOP senators to follow suit. Democrats control 51 votes in the chamber; 50 are required to confirm nominees.
When asked what would change as a result of the letter, Marshall said the goal was to attract more Republican support for rallying against the president’s nominees.
“We’re just trying to increase the size of the army to stand up and fight against this weaponized judicial system of Joe Biden,” he said.
