The U.S. Capitol building in Washington. (Courthouse News photo/Jack Rodgers)
WASHINGTON (CN) The Senate voted Thursday to confirm two federal judges nominated by President Donald Trump, continuing to fill judicial vacancies in the lame-duck session despite the urgency facing lawmakers as they hammer out virus relief and government funding packages.
While legislative leadership has spent most of this week sequestered in congressional meeting rooms fervently negotiating deals for additional Covid-19 relief legislation and funding to avoid a government shutdown, the work of the Senate to reshape the nation’s courts has continued unabated.
Charles Edward Atchley Jr. sailed through his confirmation vote 54-41 Thursday and will be seated on the Eastern District of Tennessee bench. He became the 233rd Trump judicial nominee confirmed by the Senate and is the second judge to be seated on the eastern Tennessee federal court in as many days.