Senate Republicans on Wednesday confirmed the 36th circuit court judge under President Trump — a rapid clip of confirmations that may slow in the coming months simply because the GOP will have filled all the existing vacancies on the powerful federal appeals courts.
The confirmation of Neomi Rao to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on a 53-to-46 vote, as well as Paul Matey earlier this week to the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit, now means 1 out of every 5 appeals court judge will have been nominated by Trump.
Now, just nine vacancies remain in the circuit courts, which handles the vast majority of cases that never reach the Supreme Court, and Trump has nominated candidates for six of them. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could muscle through confirmations by midyear, leaving few openings if a Democrat wins the White House in 2020.
View the complete March 13 article by Seung Min Kim on The Washington Post website here.