WASHINGTON, DC — Senate Republicans delivered a series of victories to President Donald Trump this week, confirming four federal appeals judges and two trial judges, with more expected soon.
Republicans across the spectrum continue to complain about the Senate’s dysfunctional condition on a wide variety of issues, due in large part to the narrow 52-48 GOP margin in the Senate, aided by the fact that seven moderate Republican senators have proven unreliable in advancing the president’s agenda and conservative priorities, for many of them reversing the positions they took during the Obama presidency.
Conservative Republicans, in particular, have complained bitterly about the Senate’s inability to fill hundreds of positions, including, especially, nominations to serve on the federal courts.
Regarding the third branch of government, the president has nominated 56 people thus far to fill more than 150 current and upcoming vacancies on the federal bench at all three levels of the judiciary, comprised of the Supreme Court, 13 appeals courts, and 94 district courts. As of late last week, the number of confirmations for those 56 stood at seven—less than one per month.