Dem Senate Fights Back: Inches away from re-balancing the judiciary

They were out there yesterday, well past midnight.

In 2012, House Democrats won a million more votes than House Republicans but still lost the House by 33 seats.

How does that happen? How can more votes lead to a devastating loss?

The answer lies in redistricting. Before the 2012 midterms, the electoral maps were redrawn, heavily tilting many House seats in favor of Republicans. Democrats were slow to respond and failed to rebalance the scales. They were essentially bringing pillows to a knife fight. Over time, however, they recognized their mistake, adopted the Republican playbook, and fought back.

By 2024, the landscape had shifted. House Republicans won 50.72% of the votes and secured 51% of the seats—a significant change from 2012, when they captured just 47.7% of the votes but controlled 53% of the seats.

The House’s skew toward the GOP has nearly been corrected.

However, during Donald Trump’s first term, the GOP extended its rule-bending tactics to the judiciary. They secured the appointment of an astounding 234 lifetime federal judges—nearly a quarter of the entire federal judiciary filled by a single president. Gone are the days when judges needed bipartisan credentials; now, partisan loyalty often takes precedence.

The chilling effect of Trump’s appointees is most strongly felt in the Supreme Court. They overturned Roe v. Wade and effectively made the President of the United States an untouchable figure.

Do any of these judges care that the current Supreme Court has the lowest approval rating in history?

Not at all.

The system is broken from the inside. It needs to be fixed, but talking alone won’t do it. First, you need to limit the damage, remove the skew, gain a position of strength, and only then might there be a chance to negotiate. Otherwise, you’ll just get rolled over.

For Senate Democrats, the only viable option was to rush as many judges through the Senate as possible before time runs out. The rules were bent long ago, and now, a simple majority is enough to confirm judges.

On Wednesday, Senate Democrats confirmed the Biden administration's 220th lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary. Seven more judges are expected to be confirmed in the coming days, likely bringing the total closer to Donald Trump's 234 judges.

Democrats can do nothing about the Supreme Court for now—that fight will come later. For the time being, they have managed to restore some balance to the rest of the judiciary.

This will have to do for now.