The confirmations of Benjamin Cheeks to be district judge for the Southern District of California and Serena Murillo to be district judge for the Central District of California bring Biden’s total to be one more than Trump’s 234 confirmations in his first term.

The Senate confirmed Cheeks 49-47 on party lines, with Murillo approved by the same margins.

TRUMP’S VOW TO USE ‘IMPOUNDMENT’ SETS UP SUPREME COURT CLASH

Biden’s number is second only to President Jimmy Carter, who confirmed 259 judges during his presidency.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) cut a deal with Republicans before Thanksgiving to fast-track approval of nine federal district court judges. In exchange, Schumer agreed not to move forward with four higher-level circuit court picks, saving the positions for Trump to fill. Later, Democrats acknowledged they likely wouldn’t have had enough votes to win confirmation on those nominees regardless.

Senate Democrats worked to follow the lead of outgoing GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has built his legacy on reshaping the federal judiciary, including three appointments to the Supreme Court. Biden was only able to confirm one nominee.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Democrats took full advantage of their majority in the Senate.

“They learned a lesson from the first Trump administration,” Grassley said, speaking to reporters. “Paying attention to the number of judges you get and the type of judges you put on the court is worth it.”

While Democrats are celebrating their accomplishment, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) acknowledges the moment is bittersweet now that Trump will have another shot to nominate federal judges when he returns to office in January.

“I’m not ready to uncork the champagne just because we’ve done some really good work over the last four years,” Blumenthal explained. “We need to be prepared to work, hope for the best, and try to defeat nominees who are simply unqualified.”

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will have a similar opportunity beginning on Jan. 3 when he takes over as GOP leader.

“I’m incredibly proud of how the Senate Republican Conference worked as a team with former President Trump to shape the federal judiciary. I look forward to working with him to double down on our efforts during his next term in office,” Thune told the Washington Examiner in April.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said Biden kept his vow to counter Trump’s conservative judicial choices and to diversify the bench, by shattering records for racial minorities, women, and LGBT appointees.

Biden’s record will mean that Trump will have far fewer openings to fill than eight years ago.

“On Inauguration Day 2025, there will be no Supreme Court openings, three current, and one future, appellate vacancies, and 34 current, and six future, openings,” Tobias said.

“Upon Trump’s 2017 inauguration, he had more than 100 federal court vacancies to fill, primarily because GOP Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) had permitted miniscule numbers of confirmation votes on President Barack Obama’s well-qualified, centrist judicial nominees in 2015-16 after the GOP captured the Senate majority in 2014.”

Grassley is already aiming to surpass Biden’s number when he takes over as chairman next year.

“By January 20th of 2029, Trump will be bragging about getting 240 judges,” he said.

Both Biden and Trump had more success confirming judges than former President Barack Obama, who was only able to get 170 of his judicial nominees through the Senate by Dec. 17, 2012, the comparable date of the end of his first term.