President Barack Obama stands to become the first president in at least 30 years to have more openings on the federal bench at the end of his first term than when he started.
The administration and Senate Democrats have called this a “judicial emergency” for the short-handed American courts. During the last few months, Democrats have held conference calls and hosted activists from around the country to say the reason fewer federal judges have been confirmed during the last three years is clear: Republicans in the Senate have used their powers to stall most of the president’s nominees, even the noncontroversial ones.
