With 84 of his judges already confirmed — 29 of them at the appellate level, a record number for the first two years of a presidential administration — Trump appointees make up one-sixth of the active judges on the federal bench. Transforming the federal bench is serious business for conservatives.

Senate GOP is pushing through Trump’s nominees

(Excerpt)

“This White House has made the judiciary a priority,” said Carrie Severino of Judicial Crisis Network, a right-leading advocacy group. “If they can’t pass legislation, liberals have used the courts to rewrite the laws,” she said. “It took a while for conservatives to realize what was happening and to push back.”

Republican senators plan to speed the latest batch of confirmations through its lame-duck session after this week’s Thanksgiving recess. And they have no intention of slowing the conga line in the new Congress, says Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), who is likely to succeed Grassley in January.

“If I’m chairman next year, we are going to do judges, judges, and more judges,” Graham said Wednesday. At least 86 more Trump-nominated judicial candidates are waiting to be confirmed.

By Mary Kay Linge