Republicans rush to confirm Trump’s lifetime judges as August recess approaches
Here’s what happened this week — and what’s to come.
The Senate returned to Washington this week with a to-do list on Trump’s judicial nominees.
Last Thursday, senators voted to invoke cloture on the nomination of Kara Westercamp for the Court of International Trade, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on the nomination of Benjamin Flowers to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit — teeing up votes for this week.
On Monday, senators immediately got to work.
That night, the Senate advanced Flowers’ nomination. Ahead of the vote, Leader Thune filed cloture on three more of Trump’s lifetime judicial nominees: Michael Martin for the Eastern District of Michigan, Antonio Pozos for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Daniel Traynor for the Eighth Circuit.
Martin and Pozos were the first district court nominees during Trump’s second term who hailed from states with at least one Democratic senator. Their nominations only advanced this far because Senators Gary Peters, Elissa Slotkin, and John Fetterman returned their blue slips on the nominations — allowing a hearing and further consideration of both nominees.
Also on Monday, Judge Bobby Shepherd of the Eighth Circuit announced that he would take senior status upon the confirmation of a successor — opening up another circuit court vacancy for Trump to fill. Shepherd occupies an Arkansas-based seat on the court. Trump’s replacement of Shepherd will make the Eighth Circuit the first appellate court in the nation where a majority of the active judges are Trump appointees.
On Tuesday, with bipartisan opposition, the Senate confirmed Westercamp’s nomination — handing a Trump loyalist and conspiracy theorist a lifetime position in the judiciary. As the Senate adjourned, the vote schedule for the following day became clear: The Senate would attempt to confirm two more judges — and advance two others — on Wednesday.
And that’s what they did. Just after noon, the Senate confirmed Flowers — an anti-civil rights extremist — to the Sixth Circuit and then immediately advanced Martin’s nomination. Significantly, 11 Senate Democrats and Independents joined Republicans in voting for Martin, including Senators Peters and Slotkin. Hours later, the same 11 Democrats and Independents voted to confirm him. Martin was the first Trump 2.0 judicial nominee supported by Senator Slotkin.
In a statement emailed to Nomination Notes, Senator Peters defended his vote. “Michael Martin has spent his entire career working to protect our national security and uphold the rule of law,” he said. “He’s made it clear that he has the qualifications and integrity needed to impartially serve Michiganders and the American people on the federal bench.” Senator Slotkin’s office said they had nothing new to say.
The Senate then advanced Pozos’ nomination to the federal bench in Pennsylvania. Three Democrats, including Senator Fetterman, voted with Republicans. Later in the day, Traynor’s nomination also advanced — this time on a party-line vote. As a circuit court nominee, Traynor’s nomination should have received 30 hours of post-cloture debate time. Instead, his confirmation vote was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. the following day, suggesting that Senate Democrats agreed to hold the vote earlier than it needed to be (under regular order, it shouldn’t have occurred until around midnight on Thursday).
Yesterday, both of those nominees were confirmed. Traynor, another Trump loyalist, squeezed by on a 48-47 vote due to Republican absences. Pozos was confirmed more easily, with two Democrats — Senators Fetterman and Durbin — voting in support of his confirmation (the third Democrat who voted to invoke cloture on his nomination, Senator Shaheen, missed the final vote). It was the second straight day that a district court nominee was confirmed with bipartisan support.
Also on Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nominations of Daniel Domenico for the Tenth Circuit and Matthew Byrne for the Southern District of Ohio. After several Republicans on the committee missed the markup in the morning, the committee was forced to take the votes later — off camera and off the Senate floor as senators took other votes.
Leader Thune did not file cloture on any judicial nominees heading into next week — likely because the Senate already has enough to do on Monday and Tuesday (including confirming Jay Clayton to serve as Director of National Intelligence). But Thune will likely move forward on additional nominees on Monday — teeing up more judicial confirmations for Wednesday and Thursday next week.
Right now, four judicial nominees are pending on the Senate floor. In addition to Domenico and Byrne, the nominations of Kasdin Mitchell for the Northern District of Texas and Angela Colmenero for the Southern District of Texas also await full Senate action. I previously covered their confirmation hearing and responses to written questions for the record.
Two additional nominees — Anna St. John for the Fifth Circuit and Gregory Cook for the Northern District of Alabama — await a confirmation hearing, which is expected on Wednesday, August 5. Trump previously appointed St. John to the Eastern District of Louisiana. She was just confirmed to that court in March, and she began active service in April.
But that’s it. No other nominees remain pending, though it is expected that Trump will announce more nominees in August to set up a hearing for when the Senate returns from their summer recess in September. That recess is currently scheduled to begin August 10 and last through the week of Labor Day.
As it stands, 53 lifetime judges have been confirmed so far during Trump’s second term, in addition to a judge now serving on the District of the Virgin Islands (which is not a life-tenured position). Overwhelmingly, these confirmed judges possess records of hostility to civil and human rights, and they do not reflect the rich diversity of the nation.
None have said, without qualification, that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
For as long as I can, I’ll be reporting on everything still to come.