Trump was wrong about a lot of things in his Wednesday speech in Missouri in support of Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley. He continues to struggle with English and math, and he makes outrageous unfounded claims with a regularity that would make the most hardened conmen blush. But he was right about judges.
One of the things that ... that I think is probably underscored understated but very important is judges.
The right’s much, much more focused on judges than the left as a rule. And they’re not just more effective when it comes to nominations and confirmations. The real coup was in blocking President Obama’s nominees, including should-have-been-Justice Merrick Garland.
We are going to be appointing 145, came in a hundred and forty — you know, my whole life I've helped a few people become a federal judge. Not gotten it for them, but I helped and they never forget. It's a big deal. A federal judge.
So I come and there's this this whole pile of papers on my desk — these are federal judges, these are applications. I said, “How many do we appoint?” "145.” "145!” Because for two years, two and a half years, almost none were appointed by President Obama. So I say thank you, President Obama. [Applause]
It’s because of Republican obstructionism, contrary to Trump’s account, that Trump gets a crack at a historic number of judicial vacancies. Unsurprisingly, the man who’s doing his best to pack the judiciary has a shaky grasp on nominations, confirmations, and the overall composition of the judiciary.
Well, we have 17 court of appeals judges. We had one Supreme Court judge who's done a fantastic job, Justice Gorsuch. And we'll see what happens on that score, but we have 145 judges and 17 court of appeals judges and we've appointed — I guess we've had almost 30 approved already. And what difference that's making. That'll be almost half of the judiciary will be appointed by us. [Unintelligible.] [Applause.]
Trump still has 17 appellate vacancies to fill; he’s already gotten 14 appeals court picks on the bench. He’s enthroned another 14 federal district court judges, with 121 vacancies left to fill. There are a total of 179 court of appeals judgeships and 677 district court slots. Trump won’t get to appoint half the judiciary, but he’s reshaping it nonetheless.
Trump’s speech Wednesday was a reminder of the devastating effects of some of his less publicized machinations—and why it’s critical to evict him.