Senate awaits Trump judges
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Sen. John Thune listens as Sen. Chuck Grassley speaks in 2018. Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are ready to start cranking out a new class of conservative judges — but they're waiting on the White House to send them some nominees.
Why it matters: Compared to President Biden four years ago — and Trump in 2017 — Republicans will be slower to start on judicial confirmations. As his whirlwind second term approaches its 100-day mark, Trump has yet to nominate a single federal judge.
- Trump is expected to start making judicial picks in the coming days or weeks, according to sources familiar with his plans.
- Still, by this point in Trump 1.0, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch had already been confirmed, and the first Trump federal judge was in the pipeline for a May approval, according to Senate records.
What to watch: Grassley has had ongoing conversations with White House officials letting them know he's ready to move when they are, according to sources familiar with the talks.
- White House spokesperson Liz Huston told Axios that "nominating courageous, constitutionalist judges to the federal bench is more critical than ever" and signaled nominations were in the works.
- "President Trump has already reviewed a slate of well-qualified judicial nominees and further announcements will be made in due time," Huston said.
Zoom out: Trump and his allies have long railed against a justice system they view as unfair toward conservatives, with frequent rants against district judges and their ability to block executive actions nationwide.
- In a new escalation, the FBI arrested a Wisconsin judge Friday, and she was charged in federal court with allegedly helping an unauthorized immigrant evade ICE.
- Even though he's got the power again to nominate GOP-friendly judges to fill lifetime appointments across the country, he's yet to send any picks to the Hill.
Zoom in: At this point in 2021, the first batch of Biden judges had been sent to the Senate — and seven were confirmed in June.
- After receiving a nominee, the Judiciary Committee must wait 28 days before moving forward.
- That effectively means any slate of Trump nominees could not start getting floor votes before June.
By the numbers: There are 46 judicial vacancies for Trump to fill, compared to over 100 at the start of his first term.
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made judges a top priority when he was leader. He worked with Trump and a network of conservative groups to push through 234 judges — including three Supreme Court justices — in four years.
- Then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) broke the Trump-McConnell record in late December when he and the Democrats confirmed their 235th judge.
- Now it's Thune's turn, although Schumer's record will be almost impossible to beat unless a wave of retirements washes over the courts.
