The Senate chamber hummed with tension this week as a seemingly routine deal on judicial confirmations revealed deeper political fault lines. On Thursday, the office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) responded to reports of a deal in which Democrats agreed to relinquish four appeals court nominations to facilitate the confirmation of several lower-tier federal judicial nominees appointed by President Joe Biden.

After the Senate decisively approved Sharad Desai for a federal judicial position in Arizona on Thursday, Democrats have successfully confirmed 221 of President Biden’s nominees to the federal courts. Throughout the week, Republicans have attempted to create procedural obstacles to delay the confirmation of additional Biden judicial nominees.

“The trade was four circuit nominees — all lacking the votes to get confirmed — for more than triple the number of additional judges moving forward,” a spokesperson for Schumer said according to Politico.

Before Democrats relinquish control in Washington, they have been aggressively working to secure confirmations for as many judges as possible. This Thursday marked the confirmation of President Biden’s 221st judicial nominee. In a statement to The Washington Post, a spokesperson for Schumer revealed that the deal with Republicans has been made to withdraw all remaining Biden appeals court nominees in exchange for the confirmation of 12 lower-court judges.

“What we’ve been able to save with this are the four critically important slots to these circuit courts. And so that’s the win, right?” Davis said. “That’s the big win. Because these would have been filled by Joe Biden with these radical judges, and by the war room posse lighting up the Senate switchboard.”

Davis continued, “There are now four slots that are going to be filled by Trump appellate court judges instead of by Biden radicals. And that’s the takeaway from this. That’s what’s so big about what the war room posse was able to do here.”When President-elect Trump is inaugurated on January 20, the Senate will gain the authority to push forward his legislative agenda and to confirm or reject his nominees for hundreds of federal positions. Voters in Montana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania elected Republicans to Senate seats previously held by Democrats, thereby aiding their party in gaining control of the upper chamber of Congress according to the Washington Post.

Next year, Republicans will command a 53-47 majority in the Senate. In 2026, the GOP will face the challenge of defending more seats.