February 9, 2025

Schumer trades circuit court nominees for district judges in November 2024 deal

Senate confirms three judges in one day, bypassing 70 years of vetting

🏛️Government🔍Policy Analysis⚖️Justice

Chuck Schumer abandoned four circuit court nominees on November 20, 2024, in exchange for confirming nine district judges

Adeel Mangi would have been the first Muslim federal appeals court judge in U.S. history but was abandoned after facing opposition from Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto and Joe Manchin

Ryan Park would have been the first Asian American on the Fourth Circuit (covering North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia)

The deal allowed district judges including Sparkle Sooknanan (DC), Brian Edward Murphy (Massachusetts), Anne Hwang (Central California), and six others to be confirmed

Biden finished his term with 235 federal judges confirmed (December 2024), surpassing Trump's first-term total of 234

Circuit courts hold more power than district courts—they set binding precedent across multiple states and hear appeals on constitutional questions

The abandoned seats could flip six circuit courts (Third, Fourth, Ninth, Tenth, D.C., Federal) from Democratic to Republican control if judges retire under Trump

Blue slip tradition for circuit courts was eliminated in 2017 by Chuck Grassley, meaning circuit nominees no longer need home-state senator approval

🏛️Government🔍Policy Analysis⚖️Justice

Test Your Knowledge

In 2013, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid invoked the "nuclear option" to lower the cloture threshold for most judicial nominees from 60 votes to a simple majority. What did Mitch McConnell do with this precedent in 2017?

Why do circuit court seats carry more long-term power than district court seats in the federal judiciary?

Joe Manchin adopted a blanket policy that undermined Democratic judicial confirmations in 2024. What was his rule?

Progressive groups condemned Schumer's deal as a "stunning miscalculation." What was their main argument against trading circuit seats for district judges?

Schumer justified abandoning four circuit nominees by claiming they "lacked the votes." Which two Democrats broke ranks to oppose nominee Adeel Mangi?

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People, bills, and sources

Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader (D-NY)

Adeel Mangi

Third Circuit nominee (abandoned)

Ryan Park

Fourth Circuit nominee (abandoned)

Joe Manchin

Senator (I-WV, formerly D)

Catherine Cortez Masto

Senator (D-NV)

Kyrsten Sinema

Senator (I-AZ, formerly D)

Chuck Grassley

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair (R-IA)

Julia Lipez

First Circuit nominee (abandoned)

Karla Campbell

Sixth Circuit nominee (abandoned)

What you can do

Check the political makeup of your local circuit court at ballotpedia.org/Current_federal_judges_by_appointing_president_and_circuit to see how judicial appointments affect cases in your region.

Track judicial nominations via judiciary.senate.gov/nominations to see which nominees are advancing and which are stalled, revealing Senate power dynamics.

When senators claim a nominee "lacks the votes," investigate whether that reflects genuine consensus or strategic abandonment—Schumer's deal shows how leaders can manufacture vote counts.

Watch for judge retirements under administrations aligned with their ideology—strategic retirements let presidents fill seats with like-minded judges.