WASHINGTON — Six Republican senators are threatening to try to block consideration of some of President Joe Biden’s top nominees to protest Donald Trump’s guilty verdict on 34 felonies in New York state court.
The conservative senators say in a new letter that they “will not allow judicial nominees to the Biden Article III court to be expedited, as well as the nominations of Biden attorneys from the US.”
The threat is unlikely to have much practical impact, as the six senators regularly vote against Biden’s nominees for judges and prosecutors and already oppose deals to expedite them. Judicial nominees are rarely considered quickly and do not require confirmation of Republican party votes in the Democratic-controlled chamber. Still, the move represents a political desire to show commitment to Trump as he heads toward a third consecutive presidential nomination and faces a rematch with Biden this fall.
The signatories are JD Vance of Ohio, Mike Lee of Utah, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Eric Schmitt of Missouri. They say the letter is a “response to the current administration’s prosecution of President Donald Trump.”
They provided no evidence that Biden was involved in the New York prosecution, a state case not overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Vance, the letter’s first signatory, is a candidate to become Trump’s vice presidential running mate. They are all Trump allies. Many other Trump allies in the Senate did not sign the letter.
Their statement points to a new litmus test for Republicans, one that could emerge in future confirmation hearings and put pressure on other Republican senators to follow suit. The Democrats control 51 votes in the House; 50 are needed to confirm the nominees.
When asked what would change as a result of the letter, Marshall said the goal was to gain more Republican support to fight Biden’s nominees.
“We’re just trying to increase the size of the military to stand up and fight this weaponized justice system of Joe Biden,” he said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
