This week saw President Joe Biden succeed at getting controversial Judge Embry Kidd confirmed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

That development happened because a number of Republicans were absent from the Senate, and it brought a stern order from President-elect Donald Trump. 

Trump to senators: "Show Up and Hold the Line"

According to the Daily Wire, Trump expressed his frustration in a social media post on Wednesday, writing, "The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door."

The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door. Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2024

"Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!" the president-elect added.

Trump was not alone in speaking out, as Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis did so as well in a social media post of his own one day earlier.

Five GOP senators were not present for vote

"This leftist judge would have been voted down and the seat on the important 11th circuit would have been filled by Donald Trump next year had Republicans showed up," DeSantis complained.

"Now, the leftist judge will have a lifetime appointment and the people of FL, AL and GA will suffer the consequences," the governor stressed.

The Daily Wire noted that the missing Republican senators were Ohio's J.D. Vance, Florida's Marco Rubio, Indiana's Mike Braun, Montana's Steve Daines, and Tennessee's Bill Hagerty.

While Republicans lack the numbers to prevent a nominee from being confirmed, the Daily Wire pointed out that they can use procedural tactics to create delays until next year.

Kidd's former classmate suggested child rape laws are racist

As Reuters recalled, Kidd's nomination hearing was marked by controversy when Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee referenced a 2007 article written by Yale Law School professor Monica Bell.

She scrutinized Bell laws which allowed child rapists to be executed, writing, "Child rape statutes, though not laden with the exact same racial baggage as more general rape statutes, are still racialized."

Lee stressed that Bell, who had been a classmate of Kidd at Yale, made a point of mentioning the federal judge in her article's acknowledgments.

For his part, Kidd told Lee that he did not share Bell's perspective and observed that the Supreme Court found in 2008 that executing child rapists is unconstitutional.