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Senate Democrats have reached a deal with their Republican counterparts to confirm a dozen judges nominated by President Joe Biden while pulling four of his nominees from consideration, the latest step in a battle over who controls the nation’s federal courthouses on the eve of a second Donald Trump presidency. At the same time, lawmakers are facing new pushback against a bill that would increase the number of federal judges across the country, with some Democrats reluctant to give Trump more judgeships to fill. (Raji, 11/21)

The office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is defending a reported deal where Democrats ceded four appeals court nominations in favor of confirming more of President Joe Biden’s lower-level federal judicial appointees. “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 Thursday. (Adragna, 11/21)

Two House Republicans, Reps. Matt Rosendale (Mont.) and Josh Brecheen (Okla.), are asking the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees to not include provisions in the annual defense authorization bill that expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF). The Thursday letter to the committee chairs and ranking members, first shared with The Hill, is an example of divisions that remain in the Republican Party amid threats to the fertility treatment. The topic came to the forefront after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, spurred by social conservatives’ belief that life begins at conception — even as President-elect Trump and the majority of vocal Republicans say they support IVF. (Brooks, 11/21)

JD Vance’s election as vice president has opened up one of Ohio’s U.S. Senate seats for the third time in as many years, setting off a scramble for the appointment among the state’s ruling Republicans. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine is tasked with filling the vacancy, giving the pragmatic center-right politician a hand in setting his party’s course in the state potentially for years to come. (Smyth, 11/22)

Once President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, the Senate will hold power to advance his legislative priorities and to confirm or reject his nominees for hundreds of positions across the federal government. Voters in Montana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania voted for Republicans to take over Senate seats currently held by Democrats, helping their party secure control of the upper chamber of Congress. Here are some things to know about the incoming Republican-controlled Senate, which starts work on Jan. 3. (Dormido, Ramos and Mourtoupalas, 11/21)