Judges backing out of retirement ahead of Trump term leave GOP senators fuming

December 16, 2024:

In the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 win, some federal judges have opted to make a rare move and unretire by changing their previously stated plans to move to senior status, which would have created vacancies that Trump would have the opportunity to fill on the federal bench. The move is being met with outrage by some Republicans in the Senate.

U.S. Circuit Judge James Wynn of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided not to seek senior status this month as he had originally planned, instead retaining his role on the court. His choice came after Senate Democrats agreed to allow Trump to appoint his choices to several circuit court vacancies, including the seat being left by Wynn.

The move angered Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., whose state is under the circuit’s jurisdiction. “Judge Wynn’s brazenly partisan decision to rescind his retirement is an unprecedented move that demonstrates some judges are nothing more than politicians in robes. Judge Wynn clearly takes issue with the fact that Donald Trump was just elected President, and this decision is a slap in the face to the U.S. Senate, which came to a bipartisan agreement to hold off on confirming his replacement until the next Congress is sworn-in in January,” he said in a statement.

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Some federal judges have opted to unretire in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in November. (Getty Images )

“The Senate Judiciary Committee should hold a hearing on his blatant attempt to turn the judicial retirement system into a partisan game, and he deserves the ethics complaints and recusal demands from the Department of Justice heading his way.”

A spokesperson for incoming Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital, “Senator Grassley looks forward to working with President Trump to fill judicial vacancies with constitutionalist judges, and will work with committee Republicans to respond to inappropriate partisanship on the bench,” when asked about potential hearings.

The same was done by lower level appointees U.S. District Judges Max Cogburn and Algenon Marbley, who changed their plans last month.

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Sen. Tillis has called for hearings on the so-called judicial unretirements. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

While the district judges were not included in the agreement to leave certain vacancies to Trump, it had become increasingly unlikely that President Biden and Democrats would be able to fill the roles in time.

In early December floor remarks on the rare decisions by the judges, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, “They rolled the dice that a Democrat could replace them and now that he won’t, they’re changing their plans to keep a Republican from doing it.”

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called out the rare acts by Democrat-appointed judges. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“It’s a brazen admission. And the incoming administration would be wise to explore all available recusal options with these judges, because it’s clear now that they have a political finger on the scale,” he added.

McConnell noted that the agreement made prior to Thanksgiving between Republicans and Democrats stated that the GOP would “forego our available procedural roadblocks on the remaining nominations to district courts—which have the votes to be confirmed—and in exchange the Democratic Leader won’t bring any of the remaining nominations to circuit courts to the floor—because they don’t have the votes to be confirmed.”

Joe Biden, inset, smiling with sunglasses; main pic gavel

President Biden is looking to beat President-elect Donald Trump’s judicial record, with help from Senate Democrats. (Getty Images)

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Trump’s transition office did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to Julia.Johnson@fox.com.

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