McConnell criticizes federal judges who reversed their retirement decision in wake of Trump's win

Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, questioned the decision of two federal judges for backtracking on their plans to retire from office, preventing Donald Trump from replacing their seats when he returns to the White House.

"Looking to history, only two judges have ever unretired after a presidential election. One Democrat in 2004 and one Republican in 2009. But now, in just a matter of weeks, Democrats have already met that all-time record. It's hard to conclude that this is anything other than open partisanship," McConnell said in remarks delivered on the Senate floor and reported by Fox News.

Although McConnell did not name the judges, media outlets like Bloomberg recalled that U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley notified President Joe Biden of his plans to remain an active judge in the Southern District of Ohio just days after Trump won reelection.

"And U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn’s seat on the Western District of North Carolina is no longer listed as a future vacancy on the federal judiciary’s official site. Marbley is a Bill Clinton appointee and Cogburn was appointed by Barack Obama," Bloomberg highlighted.

In that sense, McConnell argued that the judges' decisions to suspend their retirement after the Republican won the election indicate that this is a political move. He added that the Trump administration should "explore all available recusal options with these judges."