Judicial Retirement Sets Up Trump Circuit Court Nomination Showdown

President Donald Trump will need to appoint a judge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to replace a Bush-era judge who was stepping down.

Judge Leslie Southwick, whom former President George W. Bush appointed in 2007, said he will semi-retire after the Senate confirms his successor, according to Bloomberg Law. This marks the second seat Trump will fill on the Fifth Circuit in his second term.

“Serving on the court has been the greatest privilege of my professional life. That made it challenging to decide to retire from active service,” Southwick said. “The time has arrived, though, for me to focus more on family and life outside the court.”

The Fifth Circuit is one of the most conservative appeals courts in the U.S., covering litigation across Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Twelve out of the seventeen judges on the appeals court were appointed by Republican presidents, including six by Trump.

Trump nominated Anna St. John, who currently sits on the New Orleans federal trial court, to fill another seat on the Fifth Circuit court, according to Bloomberg Law.

Senators can confirm a judicial nominee through unanimous consent to fast-track the process, although Republican North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer put a hold on nominees when the Trump administration paused its plans to change to a wetland conservation policy put in place by The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Cramer began slowly lifting his blanket hold after the Interior Department agreed to reevaluate the policy. Farmers in North Dakota argued that the policy harmed their business and violated their property rights, while tens of thousands of duck hunters, conservation groups and some lawmakers in favor of the policy said it was necessary to protect waterfowl habitats.

If Cramer continued with the hold, Senate leadership would have to spend valuable floor time navigating formal debate cloture procedures to get the new nominee confirmed.