President-elect Donald Trump sent a shot across the bow — figuratively speaking — to Republican senators, warning them not to cooperate with President Joe Biden as he prepares to leave office in a month.
“To all Senate Republicans: NO DEAL WITH DEMOCRATS TO FAST TRACK NOMINATIONS AT THE END OF THIS CONGRESS,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I won the biggest mandate in 129 years. I will make my appointments of Very Qualified People in January when I am sworn in.”
According to The Hill, the Senate, which is responsible for confirming nominations at various levels, often negotiates end-of-session deals to approve nominees that have been delayed.
For instance, in November, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republicans reached an agreement to approve nine federal district court judges.
The deal set aside four nominees who were unlikely to be confirmed anyway.
So far, the Senate has confirmed 233 of Biden’s judicial nominees, the same number confirmed during Trump’s first term in office, the outlet reported.
🚨 Trump orders Senate Republicans to NOT make deals with Democrats on fast tracking Biden nominees at the end of this current Congress pic.twitter.com/lJA970Fdqm
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) December 18, 2024
Meanwhile, Democrats are working to blunt Trump’s agenda before he takes office.
An effort by Senate Democrats to pass a law that could be used to block Trump’s civil service reforms was blocked on Tuesday, according to The Hill.
During his first term, Trump aimed to implement these reforms, but he was defeated by Joe Biden before they could be put into action. The incoming commander-in-chief overturned Trump’s efforts in 2021, but Trump has stated that he will revisit the reforms.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia then called for unanimous consent to pass a bill in the Senate that would prevent Trump from altering the federal bureaucracy.
GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri refused to go along, however, and sent out a warning video to voters.
“What we’ve seen in the last 100 years is the growth of an administrative state that isn’t accountable to anybody,” he said.
“There is no secret that President Trump ran on greater government efficiency and reducing the size of government. This is another effort to Trump-proof before Jan. 20,” Schmitt argued.
Meanwhile, a Georgia appeals court disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump in his election interference case on Thursday.
The court did not go further by throwing out Trump’s indictment altogether, but Willis and the assistant DAs working in her office now have “no authority to proceed,” according to the ruling, which Fox News reported.
It’s the latest in a string of legal bad news for Willis. In September, a Georgia judge ruled against her in a case concerning an open records lawsuit.
Fulton County Judge Rachel Krause denied a request to dismiss a lawsuit regarding open records aimed at Willis and her office but she did grant a motion that exempts Willis from being personally named in the lawsuit, allowing her to remain involved in her official capacity as district attorney.
The lawsuit stems from the Fulton County election interference investigation and involves attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents co-defendant Michael Roman in the case against former President Donald Trump and his associates.
The Georgia Open Records Act required the district attorney’s office to provide documents on time, according to Merchant, who brought the legal action.
Merchant alleged that District Attorney Willis was concealing records related to a media monitoring firm allegedly funded with taxpayer money. In response, Judge Krause scheduled an evidentiary hearing to determine the existence and extent of the requested documents, according to 11Alive.
Additionally, attorneys intend to subpoena individuals who managed the open records requests to Willis’s office to gather further evidence, the report said.
“The judge clearly agreed with the defense that the actions of Willis are a result of her poor judgment,” Merchant noted earlier.
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