Last week Senate Republicans were able to confirm four of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees and Georgia’s two Republican US Senators David Perdue and Johnny Isakson praised the choices.
Those who were confirmed included Michigan Supreme Court Judge Joan Larsen to serve on the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, conservative Notre Dame law professor Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, University of Pennsylvania law professor Stephanos Bibas to the US 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, Colorado Supreme Court Judge Allison Eid to the US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and attorney Trevor McFadden to serve on the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
“The United States Senate has been stalled by historic obstruction from Senate Democrats. Despite this partisan gridlock, we confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court earlier this year, and have since confirmed 15 judicial nominees, including eight judges to the powerful United States Circuit Courts,” said Perdue.
“These judges will help shape the direction of the courts for years to come. Unlike most things in Washington, we are moving quickly to get more judges in place. By comparison, in Obama’s first year in office, only three Circuit Court judges were confirmed. While we are making significant progress, there is still a lot more work to be done. President Trump has been in office for 10 months now and still doesn’t have his full team in place. Washington needs to pick up the pace and get all of President Trump’s nominees confirmed as quickly as possible.”
Isakson said: “From Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch to a number of brilliant and well-qualified judges filling critical vacancies on district and circuit federal courts, the Senate is confirming the president’s nominees. As we continue to face blatant partisan obstruction, we will continue working hard to put judges on the federal courts who will uphold the Constitution and the laws as they are written and whose impact will extend well into the future.”
Perdue pointed out a number of highlights:
- 16 judges confirmed this year, including Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch
- 8 judges confirmed to the powerful United States Circuit Courts
- 4 district judges confirmed
- 3 judges confirmed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
- There are 15 district and circuit court judges pending on the executive calendar
- The oldest judicial nomination on the executive calendar is 113 days
- There are 39 judges still pending in the Judiciary Committee
- There are currently 145 federal judge vacancies that the Senate will confirm
President Trump praised Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his week of work on the judicial nominations earlier in the week. Experts said the fast rate of judicial confirmations was incredibly rare.