Trump is quietly moving at a furious pace to secure 'the single most important legacy' of his admin

[oberliner]

Trump is quietly moving at a furious pace to secure 'the single most important legacy' of his administration

There's widespread belief that Donald Trump is lagging behind past presidents in submitting nominations for key posts in his administration.

For the most part, that is true. Except in one area that could help Trump leave behind his biggest legacy.

When it comes to nominating judges to the federal bench, Trump is moving at a breakneck pace. And when you add in how quickly he's going about nominating for vacant US attorney positions, the number of nominees in these crucial areas is dwarfing those of past administrations this early in a presidency.

On the federal bench, virtually all of the vacancies Trump has been rushing to fill are lifetime appointments.

"This will be the single most important legacy of the Trump administration," Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Business Insider. "They will quickly be able to put judges on circuit courts all over the country, district courts all over the country, that will, given their youth and conservatism, will have a significant impact on the shape and trajectory of American law for decades."

"I do think this deserves more attention given the consequence, the significance of what will eventually be a wholesale change among the federal judiciary," he continued.

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-judges-attorneys-nominations-2017-7

Very big deal - and totally flying under the radar.

[ck4829]

1. Accessories to treason

[SCantiGOP]

7. hyperbole much?

[ck4829]

8. Nah, more like an understatement

The alt/far right is at war with people who fit our demographics, at war with the 'other'. Call it hyperbole if you wish, but that does not stop the Putinist implantation into our government nor does it stop the systematic erasure from the right wing.

[volstork]

25. Agree 100%

If this trump misadministration has taught us anything, it should be that hyperbole apparently no longer exists.

[Mr.Bill]

38. And that is

their main accomplishment.

[cstanleytech]

28. Then it should be accessories to sedition not treason shouldn't it?

[Squinch]

26. Nope. Not a bit.

[Maven]

13. +1

[CrispyQ]

2. Everyday I have a little less hope that justice will prevail.

Our entire government seems to have been taken over by men who are greedy, self-serving, power-hungry assholes of the highest order.

[Wounded Bear]

3. Repubs have be preparing for this for years...

They slow walked judge appointments starting under Clinton, and then slammed their feet on the brakes for filling seats under Obama.

[Arkansas Granny]

4. Unless there are some Republicans willing to stand up and oppose his heavy handed methods,

Trump is going to bluster his way through at least one 4 year term. Since Republicans have full control of House, Senate and the Presidency, the usual checks and balances have been swept away and we are moving backwards at a rapid pace.

[bdamomma]

47. "moving backwards"

instead of moving forward due to some greedy money hungry jerks, and screwing the American people.

[L. Coyote]

5. kick for visibility

[Solly Mack]

6. I get an email each time he names someone. All have been typical right-wingers so far.

The impact these horrible people will have our own country will be massive in terms of damage caused by their rulings.

[oberliner]

9. Impact will be tranformational

And few seem to notice.

[DFW]

10. We'll notice soon enough

We'll be burning witches at the stake again before long, and this time, it'll be everywhere BUT Massachusetts

[Solly Mack]

11. They will notice...eventually and when it is too late.

[Dustlawyer]

16. These judges would probably not block travel bans, uphold civil rights, allow religion to

break down the wall separating church and state... the possibilities for harm are endless. With Gorsuch on the Supreme Court they have us in a REAL BAD POSITION!!!

[dalton99a]

20. Yep.

[awesomerwb1]

12. Can these judges be "fired/replaced"?

I don't know how that works so I defer to the experts.

[dalton99a]

19. They can only be removed by impeachment

So yeah

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Indicates he knows he might be out of a job before the 4 years is up

so he rushes to do the 'permanent' stuff first, while neglecting the actual government.

[jmbar2]

15. I wouldn't give Trump the credit - he's just the useful idiot

This flurry of activity is straight off Bannon's infamous whiteboard. It is a carefully executed strategy, taking advantage of all the attention being focused on Trump and healthcare repeal. It is designed to change the nation permanently and irreversibly. Needs attention.

Maybe the resistance could break up into teams to fight against each of the subattacks. It is a war operating on multiple fronts.

[Raster]

17. Off of Bannon's whiteboard and Robert Mercer's agenda sheet...

...this has been the goal of "all things tRump*" from the beginning.

[not fooled]

24. Oh, and the only role dump plays

is reading the names off the list forwarded by the Heriturd Fuckdation and Fuckderalist Society.

dump wouldn't recognize any of these assholes if he tripped over them. He really is merely the useful idiot in packing the Federal bench.

Yeah, and all of those deplorables who will suffer under the extremist rw rulings of these turds will have no idea why. Or will be welcoming the appointments because they are of religious crackpots.

Funny thing these days how often radical (fake) Xtianity goes hand in hand with obeisance to corporations and the wealthy. Jesus weeps.

[VaBchTgerLily]

18. this does need to be covered more to bring this to attention of general public

[IronLionZion]

21. "unprecedented obstruction by the Republican majority in the Senate

"unprecedented obstruction by the Republican majority in the Senate in the latter years of the Obama administration"

There it is. These assholes robbed us of most of these positions which our democratically elected president (Obama) had the people's mandate to fill. They have subverted our democracy on purpose to shift our country's government far further to the right than our people. It's disgusting and shameful. When extreme lunacy goes before these courts, RW judges will rule in favor of extremism.

What are we going to do about this?

[oberliner]

36. Great question

What can and should folks do about this? I don't know.

[Greybnk48]

22. And all of his appointments will be deemed illegitimate

because of a treason conviction. That's what I hope for.

[onenote]

39. It doesn't work that way, of course.

[bucolic_frolic]

53. It has never worked that way before

but since the Constitution can be stretched and stretched and ignored

we will have to figure out ways to make it fit our agenda the same way

Mitch has distorted it to work for his.

[forgotmylogin]

23. Does 45 have a "furious pace" mode?

I know he has a "furious" mode, but that isn't the same!

[dawnie51]

27. Dump is doing nothing.....

just signing the paper put in front of his face. This is Bannon, Heritage Foundation, FRC, etc. etc. And this is why the Rethugs will do nothing to remove him, no matter what heinous thing he does. He is their amazing Mr. Pen; someone who is clueless, who doesn't care about anything or anyone but himself, and who will sign whatever these people want in order to fly on Air Force One. He wouldn't know a conservative judge from a rodeo clown, but Bannon knows. Bannon has a whole list of them, given to him by Heritage.

[oberliner]

35. Exactly

Which is why the Republicans will continue to back Trump regardless - because they know the important stuff is getting done.

[Ilsa]

29. I wish they all would like a little

Polonium served in their coffee instead of creamer.

Sorry, but I don't like these peopld making the big decisions.

[SHRED]

30. Nazi rule.

[barbtries]

31. i know they just got one named Bush

who's worse than the famous Bushes

http://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-judicial-pick-john-bush-lies-to-the-senate-about-comparing-abortion-to-slavery

all we can do is watch until the Senate and House change hands. it's horrifying.

[loyalsister]

32. It's nothing new

President's have known for a long time that the best way to secure a legacy is to leave behind a judiciary that reflects their goals. It sucks that a president who whose laundry list is corrupt, dangerous, and bigoted. But it is a legitimate way of trying to ensure that the changes a president makes carry on.

For example,

On February 5, 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt announces a controversial plan to expand the Supreme Court to as many as 15 judges, allegedly to make it more efficient. Critics immediately charged that Roosevelt was trying to “pack” the court and thus neutralize Supreme Court justices hostile to his New Deal.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/roosevelt-announces-court-packing-plan

[oberliner]

34. Not suggesting it's new

Just making sure people are aware that this is happening and will have far-reaching effects for decades to come.

[loyalsister]

37. I agree and am grateful

I just wanted to counter these strange accusations that it is treasonous or somehow unusual.

[LonePirate]

33. That is all Pence's doing, perhaps with an assist from Priebus.

I don't think 45 could name a single one of these appointments.

[onenote]

40. Before everyone completely freaks out, consider some facts

Between them, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama named nearly 700 judges to the Supreme Court, federal appeals courts, and federal district courts (including over 570 appeals court judges). The average age at the time of appointment was in the 50-53 range. Thus, most of the Obama appointees (325 of them) will be on the court for some time. And a great many of the Clinton appointees also continue to serve and are likely to be on the bench for the next four years.

Trump has nominated around 27 judges, only four of which (including Gorsuch) have been confirmed. He has 23 other nominees pending. The three confirmed judges (excluding Gorsuch) are between 58 and 48 years old, averaging 53 years of age, not that different than the age of the Clinton and Obama nominees. His six pending appeals court nominees range in age between 58 and 43 average 49, not a huge drop off in age. And his 16 pending district court nominees range between 62 and 44, also average around 49.

And the one district court judge that he's nominated and had confirmed actually was originally an Obama nominee who wasn't acted on; he was confirmed by a 100-0 vote.

Most importantly, at the present time there are only 21 other vacancies on the appeals court for him to fill and 107 vacancies on the district court, with another 23 vacancies due to arise (i.e., judges who have announced their retirement) by the end of his scheduled four year term.

That might sound like a lot, but its hardly enough to "re-shape" the federal judiciary when you compare it to the 325 judges (including 268 district court judges and 55 appeals court judges named by Obama (plus the large number of Clinton judges that will continue to serve for the next four years at least).

And if the Democrats regain control of the Senate in 2018, Trump's ability to fill a lot of the vacancies may be stymied.

So, while the ability of Trump to fill vacancies on the court is troubling, I don't think its the all-out disaster portrayed in the article.

[sammythecat]

44. Thanks for that very helpful research

Good to know the fire isn't out of control yet.

[GaryCnf]

50. Correct

The numbers aren't there for him to radically change the federal judiciary - other than the hypothetical number "1" Kennedy Ginsburg Sotomayor Kagan or Breyer leaving the bench - a possibility decreased at least through the next election by Gorsuch being so openly radical.

For all the hand wringing when Schumer ditched the filibuster for lower court confirmations, getting Obama's judges on the court may have helped to preserve the Republic.

[BumRushDaShow]

51. Yes

and articles in support of this (I have posted about this a number of times before) -

THE NEW YORKER
Annals of Law
October 27, 2014 Issue
The Obama Brief
The President considers his judicial legacy.

By Jeffrey Toobin

<...>

The transformation of the D.C. Circuit has been replicated in federal courts around the country. Obama has had two hundred and eighty judges confirmed, which represents about a third of the federal judiciary. Two of his choices, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, were nominated to the Supreme Court; fifty-three were named to the circuit courts of appeals, two hundred and twenty-three to the district courts, and two to the Court of International Trade. When Obama took office, Republican appointees controlled ten of the thirteen circuit courts of appeals; Democratic appointees now constitute a majority in nine circuits. Because federal judges have life tenure, nearly all of Obama’s judges will continue serving well after he leaves office.

<...>

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/27/obama-brief

WASHINGTON POST
The ‘nuclear option’ transforms Obama’s judicial legacy
By James Downie December 19, 2014

<...>

Finally, after years of threatening, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) went on the Senate floor in November 2013 and invoked the “nuclear option,” changing the Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster for executive branch and judicial nominees (other than those for the Supreme Court).

A year later, the effect of that change is clear: The 113th Congress confirmed 132 district and circuit court judges, including 89 this year. That’s the highest single-year total in 20 years, and the highest two-year total since 1980. (That’s particularly impressive considering that this Congress was one of the least productive in history.) On Tuesday night alone, the Senate confirmed 12 nominees. All this means that the once-lagging Obama has now appointed more judges in his first six years (305) than Reagan, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush. And because Obama has gone out of his way to nominate judges from a wide array of backgrounds, the federal bench is more diverse than ever. All in all, it’s an extraordinary turnaround, one that both Obama and Reid deserve credit for.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/12/19/the-nuclear-option-transforms-obamas-judicial-legacy/

[Bernardo de La Paz]

41. No more judicial confirmations. This is the last year of the tRump Presidency. . . . nt

[FSogol]

56. +1 n/t

[Alhena]

42. It sucks, but we can't really do anything about it.

They control the Senate and the Presidency, and the fillibuster of nominees is no more. Welcome to the disaster of the 2016 election.

[drmeow]

43. This terrifies me eom

[onenote]

46. I suggest you read post #40

[drmeow]

49. Thanks!

Although the damage he and the GOP have already done to the Supreme Court scares me as well.

[workinclasszero]

45. Union with Mother Russia? Joint dictatorship with Putin?

US Constitution toilet paper in the white house bathrooms?

Trump is EVIL!

[Crash2Parties]

48. That's the GOP, not Trump. He doesn't know who to nominate

And the GOP over the last 8 years blocked 130 Federal judge seats. Just like they did to Garland. Once they fill them with far right conservatives, and seat another Supreme Court justice or two, it's all over. And by that I mean, "America".

[oberliner]

57. True

People sometimes forget that the Congressional Republicans are further to the right than Trump and are actually implementing their agenda under the radar.

[bucolic_frolic]

52. McConnell planned it all along

that's why they stalled Obama on everything

[dalton99a]

55. Yep.

[blm]

54. Putin's plot to destroy American democracy is playing out at breakneck speed.

Putin and his cronies paid attention to RW media and its hatred for US governance. Trump was their perfect agent - easy to compromise and totally devoid of scruples and patriotism.

[spanone]

58. K&R...