• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
Here’s How Trump Could Shape The Judiciary In His Second Term

Here’s How Trump Could Shape The Judiciary In His Second Term

November 10, 2024
Political Violence Surging Under Trump Isn’t Exactly ‘Far-Right’ After All

Political Violence Surging Under Trump Isn’t Exactly ‘Far-Right’ After All

July 27, 2025
DAVID BLACKMON: Zeldin, Trump, Prepare Assault On EPA Endangerment Finding

DAVID BLACKMON: Zeldin, Trump, Prepare Assault On EPA Endangerment Finding

July 27, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: GOP Rep Touts How Alaska Is Key To Unleashing American Energy Dominance

EXCLUSIVE: GOP Rep Touts How Alaska Is Key To Unleashing American Energy Dominance

July 27, 2025
STEVE MILLOY: Big Beautiful Bill Already Paying Big Beautiful Benefits

STEVE MILLOY: Big Beautiful Bill Already Paying Big Beautiful Benefits

July 27, 2025
George Santos Reports to New Jersey Prison

George Santos Reports to New Jersey Prison

July 27, 2025
MICHELE STEEB: A New Chapter For America’s Homeless: Structure, Recovery, And Hope

MICHELE STEEB: A New Chapter For America’s Homeless: Structure, Recovery, And Hope

July 26, 2025
JAMES CARTER: America’s Capex Comeback

JAMES CARTER: America’s Capex Comeback

July 26, 2025
NEWT GINGRICH: Trump Boom Or Democrat Gloom

NEWT GINGRICH: Trump Boom Or Democrat Gloom

July 26, 2025
JOSH HAMMER: Grading The Second Trump Presidency, Six Months In

JOSH HAMMER: Grading The Second Trump Presidency, Six Months In

July 26, 2025
Leftist Outrage Erupts At California Plan To Stop Paying Criminal Illegals’ Legal Bills

Leftist Outrage Erupts At California Plan To Stop Paying Criminal Illegals’ Legal Bills

July 26, 2025
Mexican Border State Asks Tourists to Travel Highways Only in Daylight Hours

Mexican Border State Asks Tourists to Travel Highways Only in Daylight Hours

July 26, 2025
LARRY ELDER: Dems Rail Against Colbert’s Cancellation — Here’s Why

LARRY ELDER: Dems Rail Against Colbert’s Cancellation — Here’s Why

July 26, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Sunday, July 27, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Here’s How Trump Could Shape The Judiciary In His Second Term

by Daily Caller News Foundation
November 10, 2024 at 10:29 am
in News, Wire
242 10
0
Here’s How Trump Could Shape The Judiciary In His Second Term
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Daily Caller News Foundation

President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House could shape the federal judiciary for decades.

With potential retirements on the Supreme Court and Republican control of the Senate, Trump is likely to finish his time as president with a majority of his own appointees on the high court’s bench. During his first term, Trump was able to confirm Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, along with 234 other federal judges.

His impact during the second term will “turn on how many judges retire, or pass away,” South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Starting in January 2025, there will be far fewer lower court vacancies for Trump to fill,” Blackman said. 

There are currently 47 federal judicial vacancies, with 20 more opening up in the near future, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. President Joe Biden had 28 nominees still pending confirmation as of October, according to the American Constitution Society.

Some left-wing groups like Demand Justice are pushing senate Democrats to confirm as many as possible before January. “We are going to get as many done as we can,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told the New York Times on Friday.

When Trump took office in 2017, there were 108 federal judicial vacancies to fill.

“For the Supreme Court, there is already some speculation that Justice Alito will step down,” Blackman said. “This vacancy would give Trump the chance to appoint his fourth Supreme Court Justice. No President since Reagan has had four. If Justice Thomas steps down, Trump would have five appointees — the most since Eisenhower.”

Meanwhile, senate Democrats have already been considering if they should push for Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s retirement and attempt to confirm another judge during the lame duck session, Politico reported Friday. Some liberal voices floated the idea of Sotomayor’s retirement last year, though Democrats expressed concern about publicly calling for the “first Latina justice” to step aside.

Ethics and Public Policy Center constitutional scholar Ed Whelan wrote Wednesday that Trump should have “the opportunity to perpetuate a strong conservative majority on the Supreme Court for at least the next twenty years,” noting he expects Justice Samuel Alito to announce his retirement in spring 2025 and Justice Clarence Thomas in spring 2026.

The GOP is slated to have a majority of at least 53 Republican senators. “Thanks to the abolition of the filibuster, any high-quality Supreme Court nominee will be easily confirmed,” Whelan continued.

JCN President Carrie Severino told the DCNF that Trump has an advantage this time around: rules that make it easier to get nominees confirmed. During Trump’s first term, Democrats “did everything they could to gum up the judicial confirmation process by requiring even district court nominees with unanimous support to run out of 30 hour clock of ‘debate’ time between each vote,” she said.

“Thanks to cloture reform enacted in 2019, district court nominees now aren’t subject to that kind of slow-walking,” she said. “The Biden administration benefited from these changes throughout his administration, and that allowed him to appoint as many judges as he did. Now the second Trump administration will have four full years under those new rules.”

‘Constitutionally-sound judges’

Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley is expected to reclaim his position as Senate Judiciary Committee majority leader in January, leading the charge on appointments. Grassley looks forward to working with Trump to “confirm highly-qualified, constitutionally-sound judges to the federal judiciary,” a spokesperson for his office said in a statement Wednesday.

In the Republican Senate Majority Ill be hard at work fighting 2 restore law&order + make America SAFE again esp thru my leadership on the Judic Cmte We will hit the ground running on Jan 3

— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) November 6, 2024

Trump has not yet issued a new list of nominees, but several in the conservative legal world previously told the DCNF some of his appointees to federal appeals courts are likely choices. In the four years Trump has been out of office, many of these appointees have been able to develop a record of rulings that demonstrate their philosophy.

John Malcolm, vice president of the Heritage Foundation’s Institute for Constitutional Government, in August highlighted multiple appellate judges who have been included on prior lists as potential picks. These included Sixth Circuit Judge Amul Thapar, Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho, Eleventh Circuit Judge Barbara Lagos, Eight Circuit Judge David Stras and D.C. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, among others.

Vice President-elect JD Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, clerked for Thapar while he was a district judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Tags: DCNFpoliticsU.S. News
Share196Tweet123
Daily Caller News Foundation

Daily Caller News Foundation

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th