Transformation of judiciary is Trump's 'most consequential accomplishment,' says nonprofit founder
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President Donald Trump has appointed 54 of the nation’s federal appellate judges during his four years in office, just one judge short of the number appointed by President Barack Obama in his two terms.
Trump’s appointments “flipped” three federal appeals courts from a majority of Democratic appointees to a majority of Republican appointees, Reuters reports.
They are the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta, the 2nd Circuit at New York and the 3rd Circuit at Philadelphia.
The number of federal appellate appointments amounts to nearly a third of the nation’s 179 federal appeals judges. Trump has also appointed 174 federal district judges and three U.S. Supreme Court judges, giving the high court a 6-3 conservative majority.
President Jimmy Carter is the only one-term president to appoint more federal district judges, according to Reuters and the Pew Research Center. The last president to make more Supreme Court appointments was President Ronald Reagan.
“President Trump’s biggest and most consequential accomplishment is his transformation of the federal judiciary, including the first true conservative majority on the Supreme Court in nearly a century,” Mike Davis, founder and president of the Article III Project, a nonprofit formed to fight for Trump’s nominees, told Reuters.
Women made up 24% of Trump’s judicial appointments, while minorities made up 16% of his appointments, according to the Pew Research Center.
The percentage of female appointees was slightly higher than that of the last two GOP presidents but slightly lower than that of the last two Democratic presidents. Trump’s percentage of minority appointments was slightly below that of the last GOP president and well below the percentage appointed by the last three Democratic presidents, according to the Pew Research Center.
There are currently 43 district court vacancies for President-elect Joe Biden to fill, the Huffington Post reports. Biden is seeking “highly qualified and diverse candidates,” according to a letter to Democratic senators from incoming White House counsel Dana Remus.
The Dec. 22 letter, obtained by the Huffington Post, seeks senators’ recommendations for federal judges, U.S. attorneys and U.S. marshal. The letter says Biden is looking for talented individuals who have a wide range of life and professional experiences, “including those based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, veteran status and disability.”
“With respect to each of these positions, President-elect Biden is eager to nominate individuals who reflect the best of America and who look like America,” the letter says.
The letter goes on to say Biden is focused on nominating individuals for district judgeships “whose legal experiences have been historically underrepresented on the federal bench, including those who are public defenders, civil rights and legal aid attorneys, and those who represent Americans in every walk of life.”
