Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) made a rare appearance at the Capitol on Tuesday as President-elect Donald Trump fumes over the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s judges.
Vance has generally avoided the Senate since Trump chose him for vice president, and he will soon resign before taking the oath of office in January.
But the confirmation of a judge for the 11th Circuit Court on Monday set off a controversy that could keep Vance in Washington more often. He was among a number of Republican absences that grassroots activists pointed to after Democrats approved their nominee.
Republicans are unlikely to succeed in blocking Biden’s judges. Senate Democrats are in the majority and will only schedule votes if they believe they have the needed attendance.
But Republicans, from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to Vance’s own Senate colleagues, complained that the conference is not doing everything in its power to oppose the judges if not everyone shows up.
Other absences included Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Trump’s nominee for secretary of state; Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), elected as Indiana’s next governor; and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who traveled with Trump Tuesday to see Elon Musk’s SpaceX shuttle launch in Texas.
“We had some of these judges killed dead as Woodrow Wilson, and our vote wasn’t here,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA). “We had people not here to vote, and I’m not going to bubblewrap it. There’s no excuse for that. Our job is to be here and vote.”
Vance initially rebuked the Republicans criticizing his absence, noting that his vote was not decisive to their confirmation.
“If I had shown up to the vote in question, the nominee would have succeeded 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance said of Embry Kidd, a nominee Republicans have denounced as too far left for the judgeship.
But Vance soon deleted the post after Trump released a statement demanding that Republican senators not skip any votes until he assumes office on Jan. 20.
“The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door,” he posted on Truth Social. “Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!”
Within an hour of the demand, Vance was on his way to the Capitol to vote against two district court nominees. Until then, he had not cast any Senate votes since becoming Trump’s running mate in July.
Vance’s return coincides with trips he will be making to the Capitol to help win support for Trump’s Cabinet picks. He will be sitting in on a series of meetings between individual senators and those nominees in the coming weeks, according to a source familiar with his schedule.
Already, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, has Wednesday sit-downs scheduled with Kennedy and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), both Judiciary Committee members.
A spokesman for the Trump transition team told the Washington Examiner that meetings will also begin this week for former Rep. Doug Collins, the nominee for Veteran Affairs; Pete Hegseth, chosen to lead the Pentagon; and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Trump’s pick for U.N. ambassador.
Vance’s meetings could help break the ice with Republican senators reluctant to support them. Gaetz, in particular, is navigating a long road to confirmation due to sexual misconduct claims leveled against him. He is the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation and has denied all allegations.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are focused on approving as many Biden nominees as possible before they lose power at the end of the year.
Republicans have begun to obstruct those nominations, throwing up a series of legislative obstacles to slow down their confirmation in the Senate. The roadblocks kept the Senate in session until midnight on Monday as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) worked to set up votes.
“We believe appointing these judges and nominating and voting on these judges is very important,” Schumer said on Tuesday. “They can try dilatory tactics, but we’re going to persist.”
Republicans have warned that Democratic attempts to stall Trump’s Cabinet picks next year could lead them to resort to recess appointments, a maneuver that allows Trump to appoint officials without a Senate vote.
TRUMP CABINET PICKS: WHO’S BEEN TAPPED TO SERVE IN THE PRESIDENT-ELECT’S ADMINISTRATION
At the same time, they placed the blame for their own delay tactics on Schumer’s decision to commit significant floor time to Biden’s nominees. Democrats have called those tactics hypocritical.
“It did not bode well for cooperation between the two parties,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-ND) told the Washington Examiner.
Samantha-Jo Roth contributed to this report.