US judge decides not to retire from bench after Trump's win

RICHMOND, Virginia: Depriving Republican President-elect Donald Trump of the ability to fill a judicial vacancy, a U.S. appeals court judge has taken the rare step of revoking his decision to retire from active service on the bench.

U.S. Circuit Judge James Wynn, who Democratic President Barack Obama appointed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, announced on December 13 that he would no longer step into senior status, a form of semi-retirement. This decision opens a new opportunity for President Joe Biden to nominate a successor.

This is the first time since Donald Trump won the November 5 election that a Democratic-appointed appellate judge has reversed plans to retire.

Two trial court judges have also made similar decisions, sparking criticism from conservatives. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called it an "unprecedented" trend of judges delaying retirement after the election.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who opposed Biden's earlier nominee to replace Wynn, accused Wynn of turning judicial retirements into a "partisan game." Wynn's decision came a day after Ryan Park, Biden's nominee for Wynn's seat, withdrew his name due to a lack of Senate support for confirmation.

Senate Democrats and Republicans had agreed to approve about a dozen of Biden's trial court nominees in exchange for shelving votes on four appellate nominees, including Park. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said none of the four had enough votes to pass.

This left four appellate seats without confirmed nominees for Trump to potentially fill when he takes office on January 20.

Two of these vacancies depended on Democratic-appointed judges retiring as planned. Wynn, 70, had previously said he would take senior status in January if a successor were confirmed, but he changed his mind and informed Biden of his decision.

In response, the Article III Project, a group aligned with Trump, filed misconduct complaints against two trial court judges, Max Cogburn in North Carolina and Algenon Marbley in Ohio, who also decided not to retire post-election. Both judges declined to comment.