Trump might be unable to 'make as big an impact' on federal judiciary — here's why

During his first term as president of the United States, Donald Trump appointed three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — as well as judges to the lower federal courts.

One of those Trump-appointed judges, Aileen Cannon, was assigned to special counsel Jack Smith's classified documents case — and eventually dismissed it.

President Joe Biden, in contrast, appointed only one High Court justice: Ketanji Brown Jackson. But he has appointed many lower-court judges during his term.

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Now, having defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, President-elect Trump will be in a position to appoint more federal judges. Trump's critics fear he will push the High Court, which has a 6-3 GOP supermajority, even further to the right.

But Washington Post journalists Theodoric Meyer and Leigh Ann Caldwell, in analysis published on November 18, offer some reasons why Trump "might not have the chance to make as big an impact."

"Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) is rushing to confirm more than two dozen of President Joe Biden's remaining judicial nominees before Republicans take control of the chamber on January 3, limiting the number of vacancies for Trump to fill," Meyer and Caldwell explain. "The Senate will vote today to confirm Embry Kidd to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, with several more confirmations expected this week."

The Post reporters continue, "If the Senate confirms all of Biden's remaining nominees — a big if — Trump will have 36 judicial vacancies to fill when he takes office, down from 108 when he took office in 2017. Even some Republicans acknowledge Trump probably won't be able to confirm as many judges in his second term."

Meyer and Caldwell note that Robert Luther III, who worked on judicial nominations during Trump’s first term, recently told attendees at a right-wing Federalist Society conference that the number of federal judges Trump will be able to get confirmed during his second term could be "maybe 120 in total."

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"Trump will face another hurdle in winning confirmation of some of his nominees: the 'blue slip,' which allows individual senators to block district court nominees in their states," Meyer and Caldwell observe. "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) resisted pressure to kill the blue slip to confirm more of Biden’s nominees."

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Read the Washington Post's full analysis at this link (subscription required).