Trump’s victory has some liberal judges reversing their retirement plans

The recent reversals by two US district judges on plans to step down from their seats, effectively denying President-elect Donald Trump the opportunity to replace them, has put attention on other judges slated to create prize appellate vacancies but who could have a change of heart now that its clear President Joe Biden won’t choose their successors.

The recent reversals by two US district judges on plans to step down from their seats, effectively denying President-elect Donald Trump the opportunity to replace them, has put attention on other judges slated to create prized appellate vacancies but who could have a change of heart now that its clear President Joe Biden won’t choose their successors. In a scathing speech this week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell lambasted the “two partisan Democrat district judges” who had “unretired.” The Kentucky Republican warned that there could be consequences for them and for the appellate judges in question if they also backtrack on their plans to step aside. “This sort of partisan behavior undermines the integrity of the judiciary. It exposes bold Democratic blue where there should only be black robes,” said McConnell, who played a pivotal role in confirming scores of Trump nominees, including three Supreme Court justices. “It’s hard to conclude that this is anything other than open partisanship.” US District Judge Algenon Marbley, who had announced last year plans to enter so-called senior status upon the confirmation of his successor, told the White House days after Trump’s election that he was rescinding those intentions. (Senior status is when a judge serves in a semi-retired capacity, allowing them to still help out with cases while creating a vacancy for their seat to be filled.) “A successor has not been confirmed, and I have therefore decided to remain on active status and carry out the full duties and obligations of the office,” Marbley, an appointee of President Bill Clinton who sits in the Southern District of Ohio, said in a November 8 letter obtained by CNN. “Please accept this letter as a formal withdrawal of my intention to assume senior status.” A second judge, Judge Max Cogburn – a Western District of North Carolina judge appointed by President Barack Obama – also informed the White House he was backtracking on his retirement plans, Reuters reported last week. His chambers did not respond to CNN’s request for comment, but, sometime between November 1 and December 1, his name was removed from the list of future vacancies maintained by the administrative office of the judicial branch.