Judicial appointments are a GOP success story
IN 2016, many conservatives wondered whether Donald Trump’s verbal support of conservative polices would translate into action if he were elected president. Yet many of those citizens cast their ballots for Trump anyway based on his promise to nominate conservative jurists to the bench. Trump has kept his promise.
This fact was reinforced recently by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in a speech to The Ripon Society, an organization dedicated to promoting “the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success.”
McConnell cited the reshaping of the courts as one of the major accomplishments of the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress. He called judicial appointments “the single most important thing we’re doing.”
While the tax reform bill championed by Trump and enacted by Congress is important, McConnell noted such victories are often short-lived. He pointed out that the tax reform passed in 1986 “lasted four years” and tax policy can shift with every election. The key to the survival of Trump’s tax policy “is future elections. That cannot be said of lifetime appointments to the courts.”
While the two U.S. Supreme Court nominations have received the most attention, McConnell noted 29 circuit court nominees have been confirmed, “a record for any administration in the first two years,” and 84 judicial nominees overall. He added, “We’re going to do more of them before the end of the year.”
Those nominees are considered strict constructionists. Activists on the left object to such judges, but McConnell pointed out that strict constructionists pose no real threat to the left. He is “amazed that they get so freaked out over having these kinds of people in the court. What is a strict constructionist? Justice (Antonin) Scalia ... said you’re not a very good judge if you’re not occasionally uncomfortable with the result you reach, because it’s not your personal opinion. You’re supposed to apply the law or the Constitution and not just make it up on the fly.”
That point is worth emphasizing. For those on the political left, a judiciary filled with strict constructionists doesn't mean the left cannot advance its preferred policies. It must simply pursue those goals via the democratic process and public persuasion. On the other hand, conservatives have sound reason to fear judges who act as legislators from the bench, effectively negating the democratic process regardless of the public’s wishes or constitutional protections.
The circumstances that have allowed Republicans to restore the judiciary are rare, historically speaking. McConnell noted that in only 20 of the past 100 years have Republicans had the presidency, the House and the Senate at the same time.
The importance of having a judiciary staffed by judges who rule based solely on the Constitution and the law, not their personal policy preferences and viewpoints on an issue, cannot be overstated and is among the greatest achievements of the Trump administration. That should motivate conservative voters to turn out in November. It would be a huge mistake to take for granted Republican success in improving the judiciary.