Majority Leader John Thune 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.
• ⚡️ 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, telling them he's ready to move when they are, according to sources familiar with the talks.

• White House spokesperson Liz Huston told us 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 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.

⏳At this point in 2021, the first batch of Biden judges had been sent to the Senate — and seven were confirmed in June.

• 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.) and the Democrats broke the Trump-McConnell record in late December, winning confirmation for Biden's 235th judicial appointee.
• 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.

Share this story

— Stef W. Kight

Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson are sending bipartisan delegations with a total of 15 lawmakers to attend Pope Francis' funeral in Rome on Saturday.

Why it matters: The House delegation is being led by Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), the highest-ranking Catholic in the chamber. Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) is leading the Senate group.

The House delegation also includes:

• Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.)
• Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
• Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.)
• Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.)
• Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.)
• Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.)
• Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.)
• Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.)
• Rep. Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.)

➕ The Senate delegation:

• Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
• Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)
• Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.)
• Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.)

Share this story

— Stef. W. Kight

The Center for Effective Lawmaking's highest-ranking House lawmakers for the 118th Congress (2023-24) skew toward powerful committee chairs on the GOP side and more progressive members among Dems.

🔎 Zoom in: Republican Reps. Sam Graves (Mo.), Tom Cole (Okla.) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) all chaired committees last Congress, while all of the top five Democrats, except Dina Titus (Nev.), were characterized as more liberal than most of their caucus as a whole.

• The scores are based on 15 metrics related to how substantial each member's sponsored legislation was and how far sponsored measures progressed.

👋 Between the lines: Two of the most effective GOP lawmakers — McMorris Rodgers and John Curtis (Utah) — are no longer House members.

• McMorris Rodgers retired, and Curtis was elected in November to succeed Mitt Romney in the Senate.

— Kathleen Hunter