President Donald Trump’s judicial accomplishments continue setting records, and it’s a legacy that will have an impact lasting decades to come.
By the end of last year Trump had added so many judges that one in five federal judges were picked by him, and the number of his appointees being confirmed has only increased since.
According to USA Today:
This week the Senate reached a milestone, confirming President Trump’s 200th judge, Cory Wilson of Mississippi, who is now to join the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The number 200 encompasses all life-tenured judges authorized by Article III of the Constitution and does not even include additional confirmed judges who serve for limited terms. Wilson is Trump’s 53rd circuit court appointment. As the second-highest courts in the land, circuit courts of appeals are where the vast majority of appeals are resolved.
Trump’s most prominent appointments are two Supreme Court justices, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, for a total of 55 appellate judges — more than any other president at this point in his presidency, and almost as many as President Obama appointed in eight years.
This historic amount of appointments comes in the face of heavily opposition from Democrats.
In Article III courts, where appointments are permanent, nearly half of Trump’s appointees have been appointed with greater than 25% opposition, reflecting hyper-partisanship in the Trump era. Only 8% of Obama’s nominees faced such opposition, and only 4% of Bush’s. Seventy-five percent of Trump’s appointees for the U.S. Court of Appeals were confirmed with greater than 25% opposition, while only 9% of Obama’s judges were.
Historically, from 1979-1980, 97% of appointees to both aforementioned courts, and even the Supreme Court, had no opposition.
