The Senate has made progress in confirming President Trump’s first judicial appointment for his second term, though it seems to be moving at a slower pace compared to both his first term and President Biden’s administration.
A recent vote, which was 51-43 along party lines, allowed the Senate to conclude the debate regarding Whitney Hermandorfer’s nomination to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
At this point during Trump’s first term, two judicial nominees were already confirmed: Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Sixth Circuit Judge Amr Tappal.
By next week, the number of confirmations will rise to three, including Idaho judge David Nye, who was confirmed back in July 2017.
On the other hand, in the corresponding timeframe in 2021, former President Biden and Senate Democrats had already confirmed 14 judicial appointments.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is pushing for rapid appointments to maintain the workflow in the Senate, which has become more complicated due to the limited number of judicial vacancies available.
Currently, there are 179 approved circuit court judges and 677 confirmed federal district judges, creating a backlog of sorts. The district courts, where trials occur, and the circuit courts, which handle appeals, become active once judges are confirmed.
While Thune and the Trump administration aim to advance as many judicial nominations as they can, they are constrained by the number of available seats. He noted, “One of the great achievements of President Trump’s first term was the confirmation of about 234 judges to the federal bench.”
Thune commented that unlike Trump’s first term, the present Congress does not face as many vacancies, with only around 50 seats open on the federal bench.
Trump set a record with 234 confirmed judges during his first term, including three Supreme Court justices. Biden managed to exceed that number by the end of his presidency, reaching 235, which also included one Supreme Court nominee.
In the past, securing confirmation was a more complex process, needing a 60-vote threshold to overcome filibuster challenges from the opposition. However, in 2013, then-majority leader Harry Reid implemented the nuclear option to bypass this requirement for most nominations.
Following that change, Republicans returned to the Senate and began prioritizing judicial appointments as well, though other legislative goals also demanded attention.
Both parties have aimed to reshape the ideological landscape of the judiciary. For example, during Trump’s administration, the GOP focused on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In contrast, Biden pushed through the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law in March, and only later, in August of his second year, did he take significant legislative action with the Inflation Reduction Act.
