With most of their biggest legislative priorities accomplished and control of the Senate a toss-up, Democrats are about to dig into territory more closely associated with the GOP: ramping up judicial confirmations.

While President Joe Biden has seen more judges confirmed at this point in his presidency than his three White House predecessors, some Senate Democrats and progressive advocacy groups want the chamber to start picking up the pace. Judicial confirmations will come to a standstill if Republicans win back the Senate in the fall, they warn.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) put it this way: “Democrats really need to step up on judges.”

Warren added that she’s spoken to Majority Whip and Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), “who I know feels the urgency of this moment, and he was talking about how much we’re going to have to double down in September,” she said. “We need more days, more hearings, more everything but we need to get these judges through.”

The prospect of a September dominated by judicial confirmations comes as the Senate continues to openly mull the rest of its fall legislative agenda. The chamber is expected to vote again on legislation to cap the cost of insulin and could take up a same-sex marriage bill. Government funding also runs out at the end of September. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Democratic leaders say they’ve reached an agreement to include permitting reform as part of a funding package to keep the government open.

But the focus on judges, in addition to a boon for progressives who want to see a faster pace, is a clear sign that the legislative agenda is slowing down ahead of November. Nominees had to compete for summer floor time with Democrats’ other priorities, including their signature climate, prescription and tax package, legislation to increase semiconductor manufacturing and a veterans health care bill. With those bills now sent to Biden’s desk, the Senate can spend more floor time on confirmations.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer led Senate Democrats through a marathon session.

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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), another member of the committee, noted its competing priorities and said the panel is “moving deliberately but speedily.” Echoing Booker, he added: “We should definitely try to accelerate the pace. No question we have to move even more quickly. But we still have to follow the rules.”

Progressive groups go further, reminding Democrats that the preelection clock is ticking and noting that Republicans held nomination hearings for three consecutive weeks in 2018, regardless of whether the Senate was in session.

Christopher Kang, chief counsel to the liberal group Demand Justice, warned that at the current pace, some district court nominees could end up without a final confirmation vote by the end of the year. Kang added that “it’ll be interesting to see what those senators do to help move those folks along before time eventually runs out.”

“It’s really not enough,” he said. “The upcoming election should provide a lot of urgency for Senate Democrats both on the committee level and on the floor to prioritize judges.”