The nomination and subsequent confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court got all the headlines, but it was really only the first step in President Trump’s mission to make the judiciary great again. This week, Trump is expected to announce at least five nominees (possibly as many as ten) to federal appeals courts around the nation, and there’s no reason to doubt that his selections will be cut from the same conservative, constitutional cloth as Gorsuch.
In these relatively quiet proceedings, reluctant Trump voters – who may or may not be thrilled with the first few months of the billionaire’s presidency – are truly getting what they voted for. This is why, even when Republicans let us down, it’s so important to keep Democrats out of the White House.
According to people close to Trump’s inner circle, Trump is likely to nominate Joan Larsen and John Bush to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Davis Stras to the 8th Circuit, Amy Barrett to the 7th, and Kevin Newsom to the 11th. Two of those selections – Larsen and Stras – were on the president’s shortlist of Supreme Court nominees which he released during the campaign.
As noted by The New York Times, how one views Trump’s nominations will largely be dependent on one’s political ideology:
Jonathan H. Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, said the appeals court picks on Mr. Trump’s list included “incredibly strong nominees” who were within the judicial mainstream and should “have an intellectual influence on their courts.”
But liberal groups expressed alarm at the prospect of a federal bench filled with Mr. Trump’s appointees. “The Trump administration has made clear its intention to benefit from Republican obstructionism and to pack the federal courts with ultraconservatives given a stamp of approval by the Federalist Society,” said Nan Aron, the president of the Alliance for Justice, referring to the conservative legal group. “We’ll be scrutinizing the records of these nominees very carefully.”
Good, scrutinize away. But when you use terms like “ultraconservative” to describe judges who have maintained a commitment to using the Constitution as the ultimate guide, you’re not doing your little group any favors. In fact, you’re giving yourself away as someone who just wants a judiciary filled with liberals who make decisions based on the social trends of the day – particularly the most important trend, which is “The Resistance” to Trump.
