Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell was re-elected for his seventh term on November 3rd, his success can be attributed to his swift confirmation of republican judges. McConnell has assisted in Donald Trump’s ability to appoint a quarter of all the active federal judges in the United States.
What We Know:
- On October 27th, Mitch McConnell confirmed Amy Coney Barrett’s position as Supreme Court justice, a move that caused tension and upset. It was believed by many that Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s seat should have been left open until after the election but McConnell and Tump have moved ruthlessly in their efforts to create a republican majority in federal courts.
- Donald Trump has now confirmed 200 federal, life-time judges. This large number can be greatly attributed to Mitch McConnell who withheld confirming Obama’s nominees. The senate and McConnell’s obstruction allowed for there to be over 100 federal vacancies open when Donald Trump was elected.
- McConnell has made it a personal goal to take Republican control of the courts. On Hugh Hewitt’s talk show he said, “Let’s leave no vacancy behind”. “We’re going to clean the plate, clean all the district judges off as well.”
- Under Trump and McConnell, the makeup of these confirmations have become less diverse. The new appointees are 76% male and 85% white, compared to Obama’s appointees being 58% male and 64% white.
- When speaking about hyper-partisanship of the Republican Party in an interview that took place on October 27th McConnell said it was, “So, good for the country and good for us politically as well”.
The intentional large scale appointing of republican judges will cause a generational shift in politics, with many court ruling being informed by conservative ideologies.
