STATEMENT: Trump Judicial Nominations Could Define Legacy

STATEMENT: Trump Judicial Nominations Could Define Legacy

Aug 1, 2017 1 min read

President Trump is moving at a steady pace in appointing conservative judges to the courts. John Malcolm, Vice President for the Institute for Constitutional Government and Director of the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, says of the progress:

“President Trump, ably assisted by White House Counsel Don McGahn and his team, has nominated 25 highly-qualified men and women to the federal bench.  There are currently 138 vacancies, with 22 more on the horizon.  The president has his work cut out for him, but reshaping the judiciary by appointing constitutionalist judges may well become the defining feature and most lasting legacy of the Trump administration.  So far, the Senate has only confirmed four judges, including Justice Neil Gorsuch, as Democratic Senators have deployed a myriad of procedural delaying tactics to slow the pace of confirmation to a crawl.  These same tactics have been used against nominees to key executive branch positions.  After six months in office, the Senate has confirmed only 55 of President Trump’s nominees, compared with 206 of President Obama’s nominees who were confirmed during his first six months in office.  The Senate majority should act soon to lift this virtual blockade on executive branch and judicial nominees.”