Conservatives are happy about Neil Gorsuch’s appointment to the Supreme Court. But President Trump also has an unusually high number of vacancies throughout the federal court system. And he is nominating conservative judges to fill them.
Reader DonS, who, I believe, is an attorney, drew our attention to this fact in his comment on a recent post. He said, “I favored Trump over Clinton for one main reason — the courts. Today, Trump is unveiling his first big group of judicial nominees, and they are awesome! He is exceeding my expectations in this very important area.”
Details on those nominations after the jump.
This could be a significant and long-lasting legacy of Trump’s presidency.
From Trump Nominates Ten To Federal Courts : NPR:
President Trump is moving quickly to put his personal stamp on the federal courts.
On Monday the president nominated 10 people for federal judgeships. Thanks to an unusually large number of vacancies on the bench, there could be many more to come.
“This is just a down payment,” said John Malcolm of the Heritage Foundation. He noted there are more than 100 open seats on the federal district courts and appeals courts.
“Starting with a Supreme Court vacancy, which has now been filed, President Trump certainly has a very good opportunity early on to have an impact on the federal bench,” Malcolm said.
Indeed, Trump came into office with a chance to fill more than twice as many court vacancies as President Barack Obama had. That’s partly because for the last two years, the Republican-controlled Senate dragged its feet in confirming judges. The Senate confirmed only 20 of Obama’s judicial nominees during 2015 and 2016, less than a third the number that were confirmed in the last two years of the Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. . . .
All of the nominees appear to be cut from similar judicial cloth.
“They are all highly regarded in conservative legal circles and by practitioners in the states where they reside,” Malcolm said.
All presidents leave a mark on the courts, especially if they serve for two terms. But with so many early vacancies, Trump has a chance to accelerate his impact, quickly chipping away at the narrow Democratic advantage that Obama left on the federal bench.
Wheeler says 51 percent of the current judges were appointed by Democrats, up from 36 percent on the appellate courts and 40 percent on the district courts when Obama took office.
[Keep reading. . .]
For a list and more details about the nominees, go here.
Conservatives are happy about Neil Gorsuch’s appointment to the Supreme Court. But President Trump also has an unusually high number of vacancies throughout the federal court system. And he is nominating conservative judges to fill them.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In