Ed Whelan’s Confirmation Tales

Ed Whelan’s Confirmation Tales

What the 2026 Senate Midterms Mean for Judicial Confirmations

Ten quick points

Ed Whelan's avatar
Ed Whelan
Nov 04, 2026

Democrats enjoyed an extraordinary Election Day yesterday and will have 54 to 56 seats in the incoming Senate. I’m going to avoid recriminations here and just outline what this means for judicial confirmations in Trump’s last two years, in the years that follow, and in the Senate’s lame-duck session this year.

I’ll keep it short. Here’s what I foresee:

1.…

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