the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, while the media and the left have been busily “resisting” President Trump at every turn , after three years in office, the President has remade the entire federal judiciary, ensuring a conservative tilt for decades and cementing his legacy no matter the outcome of November’s election. While many of you were screaming and crying President Trump has installed 187 judges to the federal bench.
Trump nominees now make up 1 in 4 U.S. circuit court judges. Two of his picks sit on the Supreme Court. And this past week, as the House voted to impeach the president, the Republican-led Senate confirmed an additional 13 district court judges.
President Trump’s historic appointments have already tipped the balance of numerous Federal courts to a Republican appointed majority having far-reaching effects on legislation. Just last week, the 5th Circuit struck down a core provision of the Affordable Care Act. One of the two appellate judges who ruled against the landmark law was a Trump appointee.The Supreme Court where two of the nine justices are conservatives selected by Trump could eventually hear that case.
The 13 circuit courts are the second most powerful in the nation, serving as a last stop for appeals on lower court rulings, unless the case is taken up by the Supreme Court. So far, Trump has appointed 50 judges to circuit court benches. Comparatively, by this point in President Barack Obama’s first term, he had confirmed 25. At the end of his eight years, he had appointed 55 circuit judges.
Trump’s appointments have currently flipped three circuit courts to majority GOP-appointed judges, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York. The president has also selected younger conservatives for these lifetime appointments, ensuring his impact is felt for many years.
The average age of circuit judges appointed by President Trump is less than 50 years old – a full 10 years younger than the average age of President Obama’s circuit nominees.
President Trump has focused on appointing judges who set aside their personal views and political prejudices to do what the Constitution and the law demand.
The executor of this aggressive push is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is almost singularly focused on reshaping the federal judiciary.”Leave no vacancy behind” is his mantra, McConnell has stated publicly. With a 53-to-47 Senate majority, he has been able to fill openings at breakneck speed.
