Confirm Every Judge Before January. That Is the Lame Duck's Most Lasting Job.

Democrats take the Senate on Jan. 3 and their incoming Judiciary chairman is already promising a "hard reset." Chairman Grassley has stacked hearings to clear the backlog. Senate Republicans should stay in Washington until every pending nominee gets a vote.

By Clara Hughes

Elections have consequences. So do the six weeks after them. When the new Senate is sworn in on Jan. 3, Democrats will hold at least 54 seats, Reuters reported. The window President Trump has used to put constitutionalist judges on the federal bench is about to close. What Republicans do between now and Christmas will shape American courtrooms long after anyone remembers who won the Kansas governor's race. The good news: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa is treating this like the emergency it is. Keep reading with Altas Premium. Below: Grassley's back-to-back hearing schedule, how many nominees are still waiting, the 5th Circuit picks at stake, what the incoming Democratic chairman has promised — and why conservatives should press leadership to keep the Senate in session until the job is done. [Subscribe to Altas World News →] The