Trump Campaign Press Release - President Trump's Historic Judicial Appointments

President Trump announced a new list of potential Supreme Court picks, judges who would build on his already historic accomplishment of remaking the federal judiciary

Key Takeaways:

• Today, President Trump released a new list of potential Supreme Court nominees
  
• Appointing conservative judges is another promise made, promise kept by President Trump
  
  • President Trump campaigned in 2016 on appointing conservative judges, and released lists of potential Supreme Court nominees as a candidate
    
  • President Trump chose from the lists he released to the public as both a candidate and President, nominating and confirming Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh?
    
• President Trump appointed judges at a historic pace, reshaping the federal judiciary for years to come
  
  • President Trump has appointed 205 federal judges so far, the second most of any U.S. President at this point in his presidency
    
  • President Trump has appointed one out of every four federal judges, and has appointed one out of every three appeals court judges
    
  • President Trump has appointed 53 U.S. Court of Appeals judges, the second fastest pace in history
    
    • For the first time in four decades, all appellate courts' vacancies have been filled by President Trump
      
  • President Trump has flipped the balance of three federal appeals courts, and shifted nine appeals courts to the right
    
  • President Trump has appointed two Supreme Court justices, who will uphold and interpret the Constitution as written?
    
• Meanwhile, Joe Biden has refused to release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees
  
  • Biden has endorsed a litmus test and will only nominate judges who pledge to support abortion
    
  • Biden has said he will nominate judges who view the Constitution as a "living document," essentially saying he would nominate judicial activists who try to legislate from the bench

?PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS RELEASED A NEW LIST OF POTENTIAL SUPREME COURT JUSTICES – CONSERVATIVES AND CONSTITUTIONALISTS

Bridget Bade, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Daniel Cameron, 51st Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
Tom Cotton, U.S. Senator from Arkansas
Paul Clement, partner with Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator from Texas
Stuart Kyle Duncan, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Steven Engel, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice
Noel Francisco, former Solicitor General of the United States
Josh Hawley, U.S. Senator from Missouri
James Ho, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Gregory Katsas, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Barbara Lagoa, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Christopher Landau, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the United Mexican States
Carlos Muñiz, Justice on the Supreme Court of Florida
Martha Pacold, Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Peter Phipps, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Sarah Pitlyk, Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
Allison Jones Rushing, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Kate Todd, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President
Lawrence VanDyke, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

PRESIDENT TRUMP IS APPOINTING JUDGES THAT WILL UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION AND RULE OF LAW

President Trump Kept His Promise On Appointing Conservative Judges

In May 2016, Then-Candidate Donald J. Trump Promised To Appoint Conservative Judges Who Will Uphold The Principles Of The U.S. Constitution. "Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, released a list of potential Supreme Court nominees on Wednesday as part of an effort to quell concerns that he would not select conservative jurists... Mr. Trump said in a statement that his shortlist was 'representative of the kind of constitutional principles I value and, as president, I plan to use this list as a guide to nominate our next United States Supreme Court justices.' The Trump campaign did not share how it settled on the names, but Mr. Trump has previously said that he was seeking guidance from conservative groups such as the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation." (Alan Rappeport and Charlie Savage, "Donald Trump Releases List Of Possible Supreme Court Picks, The New York Times, 5/18/16)

• Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch Was On The List Of Potential Supreme Court Picks President Trump Released In September 2016, And Justice Brett Kavanaugh Was On The List He Released In November 2017. (Reena Flores and Major Garrett, "Donald Trump Expands List Of Possible Supreme Court Picks," CBS News, 9/23/16; "President Donald J. Trump's Supreme Court List," The White House, 11/17/17)

President Trump Has Re-Shaped The Federal Judiciary, Appointing Judges At An Historic Pace And Creating A Legacy That Will Endure For Years. "A divided Senate on Wednesday confirmed President Trump's 200th judicial nominee, a milestone that reflects the breakneck speed at which he and fellow Republicans have moved to create a legacy that will endure regardless of the outcome of this year's elections. On a largely party-line vote of 52 to 48, the Republican-led chamber approved the nomination of Cory Wilson of Mississippi to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, elevating another conservative judge to a lifetime appointment on the federal bench." (John Wagner, "Senate Confirms 200th Judicial Nominee From Trump, A Legacy that Will Last Well Beyond November, The Washington Post, 6/24/20)

President Trump Has Appointed One Out Of Every Four Federal Judges – More Than 200 Total

As Of September 9, 2020, The Senate Has Confirmed 205 Federal Judges Nominated By President Donald Trump. ("Judicial Appointment Tracker," The Heritage Foundation, Accessed 9/9/20)

• 24 Percent Of All Federal Judges, 205 Of The 860 Article III Judgeships, Have Been Appointed By President Trump. ("Judicial Appointment Tracker," The Heritage Foundation, Accessed 9/9/20; "Authorized Judgeships," U.S. Courts, Accessed 9/9/20)

President Trump Has Appointed Judges At The Second-Fastest Pace In History, And Has Confirmed Appeals Court Judges At The Second Fastest Pace In History. ("Pace Of Confirmations," Article III Project, Accessed 9/9/20)

President Trump Has Nominated And Had Confirmed 53 Judges To U.S. Courts Of Appeals. ("Pace Of Confirmations," Article III Project, Accessed 9/8/20)

• 30 Percent Of All Federal Appeals Court Judges – 53 Of The 179 Judges – Have Been Appointed By President Trump. ("Pace Of Confirmations." Article III Project, Accessed 9/9/20; "Judicial Vacancies," U.S. Courts, Accessed 9/9/20)
  
• For The First Time In More Than Four Decades, There Are No Federal Appellate Court Vacancies. "For the first time in more than four decades, there are no longer any vacancies on the nation's appellate courts, the judicial level where most of the major rulings are handed down." (John Wagner, "Senate Confirms 200th Judicial Nominee From Trump, A Legacy That Will Last Well Beyond November," The Washington Post, 6/23/20; "Judicial Vacancies," U.S. Courts, Accessed 9/9/20)

President Trump Has Flipped The Balance Of Three Federal Appeals Courts, And Shifted Nine Appeals Courts In A More Conservative Direction

President Trump's Judicial Appointments Have Flipped The Second Circuit, The Third Circuit, And Eleventh Circuit Courts To Predominantly Republican Judicial Appointees. "Three circuit courts – the 2nd, based in New York; the 3rd, based in Philadelphia; and the 11th, based in Atlanta – were dominated by Democratic presidents' nominees when Trump came into office. Now Republican presidents" nominees are in the majority in each." (Richard Wolf, "President Trump Has Transformed The Federal Courts, But John Roberts Still Leads Them," USA Today, 7/1/20)

Nine Circuit Courts Have Seen Their Balance Shifted Toward More Republican Appointed Judges. ("Composition Of The Federal Judiciary," Article III Project, Accessed 9/9/20)

BIDEN HAS REFUSED TO RELEASE A LIST OF JUDGES

Joe Biden Has Refused To Release A List Of Potential Supreme Court Nominees, Knowing That Anybody He Names Will Hurt Him. "Last December Mr. Biden said that he'd appoint judges who see the Constitution as a 'living document,' echoing his three-decade-old attacks on Bork and making clear that there would be no olive branch. Unlike Mr. Trump, however, he has no plans to release a list of potential nominees, knowing that anybody he names would hurt him politically." (Ilya Shapiro, Op-Ed, "Why Biden Won't Talk About Judges," Wall Street Journal, 9/3/20)

Biden Has Said He Would Appoint Judges Who See The Constitution As A "Living Document," And Use A Litmus Test On Abortion

In February 2020, Biden Said He Will Perform A Litmus Test On All Potential Supreme Court Nominees If Elected President, Saying They Would Have To Support Abortion. "Joe Biden said in the Democratic debate he would demand that his appointees to the Supreme Court commit to upholding abortion rights. Asked if he would make support for Roe v. Wade a litmus test for nominees, Biden said yes. 'A litmus test on abortion relates to the fundamental values of the Constitution,' Biden said. 'A woman does have the right to choose. If they rule it to be unconstitutional, I will send to the United States Congress, and it will pass, I believe, a bill that legislates Roe v. Wade adjusted by Casey.'" (Cassidy Morrison, "Biden Endorses Abortion Litmus Test For Supreme Court Nominees," Washington Examiner, 2/7/20)

In December 2019, Biden Said He Would Appoint Judges Who Believe The U.S. Constitution Is A "Living Document." JOE BIDEN: "The people that I will appoint to the Court are people who have a view of the Constitution that it's a living document. (Joe Biden, Remarks At Iowa Campaign Event, 12/28/19)

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