Mitch McConnell votes against Joe Biden’s first judicial nominee

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell prevented New Jersey’s Julien Neals from becoming a federal judge under former President Barack Obama, but couldn’t stop him from finally winning that post under President Joe Biden.

McConnell voted against confirming Neals as Biden’s first appointment to federal justice Tuesday, but the Democratic-led Senate gave his nomination the go-ahead.

Senators confirmed Neals as judge in the U.S. District Court for the New Jersey District in a bipartisan vote early Tuesday afternoon, 66-33.

Kentucky’s longtime senator prevented Neals from being nominated for nearly two years during the Obama administration.

McConnell was the majority leader at the time and made a habit of slowly pushing Obama’s judicial nominations.

McConnell eventually planned a conservative reorganization of the Bundesbank during former President Donald Trump’s only term in office. Most notably, he blocked Obama’s 2016 candidate for the US Supreme Court and then confirmed Trump’s candidate for the same seat in 2017.

More:This time around, McConnell is giving Merrick Garland’s name the thumbs up

Neals’ chance to join justice disappeared after Trump became president, but Biden’s election gave him another opportunity.

It worked this time after McConnell was demoted to minority leader after the Democrats won a wafer-thin Senate majority in January.

Now that McConnell is no longer the majority leader, he can unilaterally prevent a vote from taking place. He and his Senate Republicans can still block many laws that generally require 60 votes, but only a simple majority of 51 votes is required to endorse Biden’s legal nominee. McConnell and his Senate Republicans can still block many laws that generally require 60 votes to pass, but only a simple majority of 51 votes is required to approve Biden’s judicial nominee.

The Senate Democrats can overcome this lower bar all by themselves. Of course, that wasn’t an issue for Neals’ nomination anyway, which received bipartisan support in Tuesday’s confirmatory vote.

Julien Neals, the incumbent district administrator, will introduce the Bergen district executive Jim Tedesco (not pictured) ahead of the 2019 district state speech in Hackensack on Tuesday, February 26, 2019.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, promised Tuesday that Neals would be the first of many court affirmations during the Biden era.

“The Senate will reach an important milestone today: We will confirm the first of many judicial appointments during the Biden administration,” Schumer tweeted just before Neals was officially confirmed.

Democrats hope to make up some ground in the wake of the Trump administration, when McConnell and the Senate GOP used their majority to approve a record number of federal judges – including three US Supreme Court justices – who often lacked bipartisan support to be able to.

Reach Reporter Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; [email protected]; Twitter: @ morganwatkins26.

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