Trump’s next judicial reform target: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
President Donald Trump has had ample opportunity to begin transforming his judicial nemesis: a federal appeals court out West that has stymied some of his most ambitious and controversial proposals.
So far, he hasn’t seized it.
The powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has long been a target for conservatives who argue it is a liberal power center out of step with the rest of the country. It now has eight vacancies, giving Trump the ability to reshape the court. But the White House has put forward only two picks for the open slots – neither of which has been confirmed.
In a presidency that has been marked by Trump’s notable successes in transforming the federal judiciary – 15 circuit judges have already been installed under Trump, and the Senate is poised to soon confirm up to six more – the famously liberal 9th Circuit stands out as a glaring exception. It’s all the more striking when considering the appeals court has repeatedly been the target of Trump’s Twitter ire, particularly after it issued rulings unfavorable to the administration, including on the travel ban and a crackdown on sanctuary cities.
Conservative groups pleased with Trump’s judicial picks overall have so far given him a pass for not moving more quickly to reshape the 9th Circuit, laying the slowdown at the feet of Democrats.
“He tries to give them every benefit of the doubt in working with them,” said Carrie Severino, the chief counsel of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network. “You can only go so quickly, in general.”
But others note that Trump could do more, especially given how much he has complained about the rulings coming out of the 9th.
“There’s a lot of things where his involvement has been limited to tweets,” said Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who has offered input to the White House on potential nominees. “He has more power than that, believe it or not, that he hasn’t taken advantage of.”
The administration has prioritized filling vacancies in other, more conservative courts, probably because they are easier: Those states often have two Republican senators who can quickly sign off on Trump’s picks so the White House can nominate them.