(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) An Obama-appointed judge has rescinded his previously announced retirement after it became clear that President-elect Donald Trump and the incoming Republican-led Senate would be able to appoint his successor.
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James Wynn informed outgoing President Joe Biden on Friday that he “decided to continue in regular active service” as a federal appellate judge. Wynn had initially announced his retirement on January 5, 2024—nearly a year ago.
Wynn’s unexpected reversal occurred less than two months after voters rejected Democratic governance in the 2024 election, leading Republicans to take control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Critics suggest that Wynn’s decision to cancel his retirement was influenced by a deal made by Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., with Democrats to block the nomination of the federal judge’s proposed successor.
The November agreement involved Democrats conceding to at least three judicial vacancies in exchange for other judicial nominations. Wynn’s vacancy was among those affected by this deal, according to The Herald Sun.
“Judge Wynn’s brazenly partisan decision to rescind his retirement is an unprecedented move that demonstrates some judges are nothing more than politicians in robes,” Tillis wrote in X.
The GOP senator added, “Judge Wynn clearly takes issue with the fact that @realDonaldTrump was just elected President, and this decision is a slap in the face to the U.S. Senate, which came to a bipartisan agreement to hold off on confirming his replacement until the next Congress is sworn-in in January.”
Judge Wynn's brazenly partisan decision to rescind his retirement is an unprecedented move that demonstrates some judges are nothing more than politicians in robes. Judge Wynn clearly takes issue with the fact that @realDonaldTrump was just elected President, and this decision is…
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) December 14, 2024
Tillis called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on Wynn’s “blatant attempt to turn the judicial retirement system into a partisan game.” He also predicted that the incoming Trump administration would launch ethics complaints and recusal requests regarding Wynn’s actions.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Tillis’s sentiments, stating: “It’s not every day that a judge has a retirement party and then tells the President he’s going to keep his job.”
McConnell continued, “I expect that Judge Wynn will face significant ethics complaints based on Canons 2 and 5 of the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges, followed by serial recusal demands from the Department of Justice. He’s earned it.”
It’s not every day that a judge has a retirement party and then tells the President he’s going to keep his job. I expect that Judge Wynn will face significant ethics complaints based on Canons 2 and 5 of the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges, followed by serial recusal demands from… https://t.co/NI6QpEPzrv
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) December 15, 2024
Wynn is among several leftist judges who have canceled their plans to retire following Trump’s electoral landslide. Algenon Marbley, a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Ohio, and Max Cogburn, of the Western District of North Carolina, made similar withdrawals. Marbley and Cogburn were appointed by former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, respectively.
These seemingly partisan actions are reminiscent of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who allegedly expressed in a letter her final wish to be replaced by whoever won the 2020 election, indicating she did not want then-President Trump to appoint her successor.
"She led an amazing life," President Trump said as he learned that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died on Friday. "What else can you say? She was an amazing woman." https://t.co/XVNIqgnDRe pic.twitter.com/oLw304yrQ7
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 19, 2020
Ginsburg’s alleged last wish did not materialize, as she was succeeded by Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett.
President Trump made an outstanding choice in Judge Amy Coney Barrett. She is one of the finest legal minds of her generation. She’s won national admiration for her example of strong female leadership. She’s exactly the kind of person Americans deserve on their highest Court. pic.twitter.com/eYEle2s1nw
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) October 6, 2020
