WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. JD Vance made a rare trip to the Capitol on Nov. 20 along with Sen. Marco Rubio and former Rep. Matt Gaetz. The three spent the day meeting with prominent Senate Republicans in a bid to convince them to confirm Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Attorney Genera
What You Need To Know
- Sen. JD Vance returned to the Senate Wednesday, along with Sen. Marco Rubio and former Rep. Matt Gaetz
- Vance's visit served two purposes: to convince GOP senators to confirm Gaetz as Attorney General, and to vote in judicial confirmations
- Democrats are making a final push to fill judicial vacancies with President Joe Biden’s appointees before they lose the Senate majority in the new year
Democrats and even some Republicans have expressed concern about Gaetz’s legal issues, including allegations of sex trafficking and illegal drug use that the House Ethics Committee spent years investigating.
“This individual resigned from the House of Representatives so the report would not be made public. Let’s get to the bottom line here. He does not want it to be made public and there must be something in there that scares him,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-N.C., told reporters.
Vance met with several members of the Judiciary Committee, which conducts confirmation hearings. Many of those members remained noncommittal on their support.
After meeting with Vance, Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., the Judiciary Committee’s ranking member, wrote on X,
“This process will not be a rubber stamp nor will it be driven by a lynch mob.”
Vance also had some Senate business to attend to.
Democrats are making a final push to fill judicial vacancies with President Joe Biden’s appointees before they lose the Senate majority in the new year. Senate leadership has been holding confirmation votes all week to approve those nominees.
Democrats still control the chamber. The nominees were almost certain to be approved no matter what, but the absences of several GOP senators, including Vance, allowed 18 nominees to sail through on Monday night. That angered some Republicans.
“There’s no excuse to let Chuck Schumer force these judicial nominations down our throat,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. “We gotta show up for work. What happened Monday night only occurred because Republicans were not here.”
Vance was on the Senate floor for votes Tuesday afternoon, but his presence was not enough to block the confirmation of two more of Biden’s judicial nominees on Wednesday.
Vance rushed between meetings and votes, and did not take questions from reporters.