[The recent reversals by two US district judges on plans to step down from their seats, effectively denying President-elect Donald Trump the opportunity to replace them, has put attention on other judges slated to create prized appellate vacancies but who could have a change of heart now that it’s clear President Joe Biden won’t choose their successors.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell lambasted the “two partisan Democrat district judges” who had “unretired,” warning that there could be consequences for them and for the appellate judges in question if they also backtrack on their plans to step aside.
Judge Algenon Marbley, who had announced plans to enter senior status upon the confirmation of his successor, rescinded those intentions, stating that a successor had not been confirmed and he would remain on active status.
Another judge, Max Cogburn, also informed the White House he was backtracking on his retirement plans. A handful of judges in recent years have reversed retirement plans when they have not been able to secure a preferred successor, including US District Judge Karen Caldwell, a judge who sits in McConnell’s home state.
Federal judges are confirmed for lifetime tenures, and it’s entirely in their discretion when to retire, according to John P. Collins, a professor at George Washington Law School. He suggested that the two judges may have been wary of the types of nominees Trump would put forward, particularly given his allies’ suggestions that they’d select judges even farther to the right than in his first term.
A handful of judges, including Wynn and Stranch, are on the cusp of stepping down, with their plans to take on senior status still uncertain.
Judge Wynn was first selected for the appeals court by Clinton in 1999, but was stalled for several years after his home state senator, late Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, of North Carolina, withheld support. Stranch’s predecessor, Judge-Dickson, was a conservative with a long history of attacking the Affordable Care Act.
Senate Democrats noted that McConnell urged GOP-appointed judges to step down in the months before the 2020 election.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated on Monday that this behavior simply “undermines the integrity of the judiciary” and that “there will be consequences for these politicians who try to play politics with the justice system.”
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