Republican senators are urging some of their colleagues, including Vice President-elect JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Donald Trump's Secretary of State pick Marco Rubio, R-Florida, to get back to the office and block Democrats from confirming judges during the lame-duck session while they still have the majority and the White House.

After their absences helped Senate Democrats to confirm several of President Joe Biden's nominees, Republicans fumed about Vance, Rubio and others during their weekly caucus lunch and to reporters. “I’m not going to bubble wrap it,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “There’s no excuse for that, it’s our job to be here and vote.”

“We want to see [Vance] and some of our members back because of these votes we’re having,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told reporters. “Particularly on some of the circuit court judges.”

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Trump himself issued marching orders on Truth Social on Tuesday. "The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door," Trump declared. "Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!" he wrote, just a few hours after he invited several GOP senators, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to witness a SpaceX launch while the rest of the chamber was........

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