One Quarter of Circuit Court Judges Have Now Been Nominated by Trump

MEDIA CONTACT: Nancy Rodriguez, media@acslaw.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump is close to achieving a dubious milestone in his frenzied push to overhaul the federal judiciary with conservative judges. The Senate's action this week means that a full quarter of the nation’s 179 appeals court judges are Trump appointees, a number far higher than the number of appeals court appointees that either George W. Bush or Barack Obama had made at this point in their presidencies.

Zinelle October, Interim President of the American Constitution Society, issued the following statement in response to the Senate judicial confirmations:

“President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell have been working ceaselessly to install extremely conservative judges on our nation’s courts, setting the stage for potentially devastating future court decisions that threaten many of the rights, freedoms, and protections Americans hold dear. Women’s rights, workers’ rights, immigrant rights, LGBTQ freedoms, environmental protections -- all could be threatened.

The President’s nominees hold views on everything from presidential power to minority rights that are way out of the mainstream. Despite President Trump's claims today that his nominees are high quality, we know this is simply not true. Some have even earned a ‘not qualified’ rating from the American Bar Association. Yet they still make it onto the bench through a rushed and underhanded process that casts aside many of the norms of previous judicial nominations processes.

The right is attempting to use the courts to enact a social and economic agenda they cannot achieve legislatively. We as Americans must protect our democratic institutions and speak out against efforts to roll back the clock on the rights and freedoms we have won.”

For more information and news on the judicial nominations process, visit ACS’s Judicial Nominations page.