'We're in different times': Biden’s federal judge fight gets big boost from key senator

One of the biggest priorities for President Joe Biden during his lame duck period is the confirmation of several dozen federal judges still awaiting a vote in the full Senate. Now, one senator Biden has been counting on says he's all-in on judicial confirmations.

Axios reported Thursday that independent Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia — who will be retiring after his Republican replacement is sworn in this coming January — has publicly indicated he's ready to help confirm Biden's last remaining judges. This is a sharp reversal from his previous position of not voting for any Biden judges who don't have any Republican support.

"We're in different times right now," Manchin told Axios, adding: "My Republican friends are under a microscope."

Legal journalist Chris Geidner reported that there are five Biden appointees at the powerful appellate court level who are awaiting confirmation, with one awaiting a vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the other four just needing a full floor vote in the Senate. Article III federal judges serve lifelong terms, and appellate judges are the most powerful in the country outside of the nine justices who sit on the Supreme Court. There are also dozens of Biden judicial appointees at the U.S. District Court level.

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"The four nominees awaiting a floor vote are Karla Campbell (Sixth Circuit), Embry Kidd (Eleventh Circuit), Julia Lipez (First Circuit), Adeel Mangi (Third Circuit), and the nominee in committee is Ryan Park (Fourth Circuit)," Geidner wrote. "[T]here are 13 district court nominees awaiting a vote of the full Senate, meanwhile, with 10 more in committee and two more announced."

Axios reported that Democrats have so far confirmed 215 of Biden's judicial appointees since he took office in 2021. During President-elect Donald Trump's first term, he was able to confirm 234 Article III judges. Biden would surpass that figure if he's successful in having his final slate of judges confirmed.

Aside from judicial nominees, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also urged her Senate colleagues to not neglect the importance of several key regulators who Biden can confirm for another term — which Trump would not be able to fire even after taking office in January. This includes powerful figures like Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan, who has been busy implementing numerous pro-consumer policies like requiring companies operating on a monthly subscription model to make it easy for customers to cancel as easily as they signed up.

"While still in charge of the Senate and the White House, we must do all we can to safeguard our democracy," Warren wrote in an op-ed for TIME earlier this week. "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must use every minute of the end-of-year legislative session to confirm federal judges and key regulators—none of whom can be removed by the next President."

Biden is also aiming to make the most of his final weeks in office in other ways. This includes finalizing roughly $6 billion in military aid to Ukraine, as Trump has signaled less interest in financially supporting the U.S. ally. Biden is also planning to safeguard additional federal lands from oil drilling, like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Click here to read Axios' report in full.