Senate Republicans are heading into a packed lame-duck session with limited time to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda before Democrats take control of the chamber in January, and confirming his remaining federal judicial nominees is emerging as one of their biggest priorities. With less than two months remaining before the new Congress is sworn in, Republicans have a narrow window to push Trump’s nominees through the Senate amid a crowded slate of year-end business. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has publicly urged Republicans to move quickly, warning that once Democrats take control in January, Trump could struggle to secure another judicial confirmation.
So far, the current Congress has confirmed 57 judges since Trump’s second term began in 2025. There are currently 28 federal judicial vacancies, with 11 nominees pending for existing vacancies. Another five nominees are pending for future vacancies, meaning 16 judicial nominees remain awaiting Senate action overall.
"We expect all judicial nominees pending in the Senate to be confirmed this year," a White House official told Newsweek on Friday evening. While the White House expressed confidence that the nominees will clear the Senate, DeSantis has framed the coming weeks as a now-or-never opportunity for Republicans. Democrats [won’t] confirm a single Trump judge once they take over.” The urgent messaging from DeSantis comes as Democrats had overwhelming success with the midterm elections this past week after flipping at least seven U.S.
Senate seats and more than two dozen U.S. House seats, with some races still undecided three days after midterms. Of the 16 current nominees, three stand the greatest chance of being confirmed before the new Senate takes over because they have already cleared the judiciary committee.
They are: Since all three of these nominees have already cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee, they stand the greatest chance at confirmation before the end of the lame-duck session. Federal district and appeals court judges are nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate and receive lifetime appointments, making judicial appointments one of a president’s most lasting legacies. Federal judicial nominees must first pass through the Senate Judiciary Committee before reaching the full Senate, where confirmation requires a simple majority vote.
The Senate is expected to return to Washington on Monday, beginning the post-election lame-duck stretch. The Senate’s tentative calendar leaves lawmakers in session for portions of November and December, with a Thanksgiving recess from November 23 to 27 and a target adjournment date of December 18. That gives Republicans roughly six weeks, with considerably fewer actual legislative days, to act on pending judicial nominations alongside other year-end business.
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