Joe Biden had a chance to make history today, and he failed.
He failed because his own party members did not show up for work.
At stake was the judiciary appointment of Arianna Freeman.
Gotta Come to Work
With a 50-50 Senate, everyone has to show up for work or you lose.
Freeman would have been the first black woman appointed to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, but not all the Democrats showed up for work.
Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) did not show up for the vote.
Both hard primary races on Tuesday, but they easily could have flown back for the vote.
Or, Schumer could have scheduled the vote on a different day.
Regardless of the reason, Democrats screwed up.
Senator Todd Young (R-IN) missed the vote on the Republican side.
When the final votes were talked, Freeman failed 47-50.
Freeman is a public defender with a questionable record, having almost failed to get out of committee.
Schumer can put her name back on the floor for reconsideration, but that would back up the Respect for Marriage Act debate, which was scheduled to move forward this week.
Democrats are running out of time and they know it, but they also need more liberals on the bench to block Republicans if they take back the White House in 2024.
Regardless, this is a blow to both Schumer and Biden, who are both hoping to ram through as much legislation and judiciary appointments as possible before the election.
Source: The Hill
