Trump is capturing the judiciary at an alarming rate
Trump is capturing the judiciary at an alarming rate
Judges confirmed by the president – 92 to date – have shown loyalty to their party which seeks to roll back decades of progress
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/03/trump-capturing-judiciary-alarming-rate?utm_term=RWRpdG9yaWFsX0d1YXJkaWFuVG9kYXlVUy0xOTA0MDM%3D&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUS&CMP=GTUS_email
Mexico is not paying for Donald Trump’s wall. The 2018 tax cut did not give tax relief to middle-class Americans. And no infrastructure or health care bills have emerged from this administration. But, the one promise that the president has kept, and perhaps the one that is of greatest importance to his base, is his selection of judges for the federal bench. The president has vowed to appoint judges who share the views and values of the minority of Americans who voted him into office. And he has succeeded. A look at the growing list of judges now occupying life terms in the federal judiciary shows that, as a general matter, they oppose reproductive rights, gay rights, affirmative action, unions, government regulation, any form of gun control, and immigration.
To date, 92 judges selected by Trump have been confirmed: 2 for the supreme court, 37 for the circuit courts of appeal, and 53 for the district courts (the entry level trial courts). Thirty-nine nominations have cleared the Senate Judiciary committee (2 appellate and 37 trial court) and are pending Senate confirmation – which means they could be confirmed any day. Twenty-one of these 39 were voted out of committee on a vote of 12-10 (54%) which means on strict party line votes – supported only by Republican Senators. Finally, 61 more nominations (6 appellate and 55 trial court) have been made. To date, Trump has appointed nearly 22% of the appellate judges with more surely to come. Only six of the 13 circuits have a majority of Democratic appointees and that number will decrease in the remaining months of his presidency.
These appointments are well on their way to reshaping the federal judiciary. Because so few cases are heard by the supreme court – between 80 and 90 per year – the circuit courts are often the final word on issues raised in federal court. A number of the circuit courts of appeals now have a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents. For example, Trump has appointed 37.5% of judges in the sixth circuit (6 of 16); 35% of judges in the seventh circuit (4 of 11) and the same in the eighth circuit (4 of 11); nearly 30% of the judges in the fifth circuit (5 of 17)’ and 27% of judges on the eleventh circuit (3 of 11). The addition of three Trump judges to the third circuit, has added that circuit to the list of circuits dominated by Republican appointees.
These new judges have already shown that they can be counted on to advance the president’s agenda. One example is judge James C Ho of the fifth circuit who referred to the “moral tragedy of abortion” in a recent published opinion. Finally, it is worth noting, that of the 92 judges confirmed to date, only 1% are African-American, and only 25% are women.
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A different kind of example is a look at the background and qualifications of several recent appointees. Two nominees for the ninth circuit court of appeals – a circuit repeatedly attacked by Trump as a “complete and total disaster” – failed to receive the approval of either of their home state (California) senators. In the past, a nominee who did not receive what is known as a “blue slip” from their home state senators, was not given a hearing or a Senate vote and the nomination was eventually withdrawn.
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