{"slug":"trump-first-term-judicial-appointments","title":"Judicial Appointments: Packing Courts with Ideological Judges Who Lied at Confirmation","date":"2017-01-31","lastUpdated":"2020-11-03","description":"Trump appointed 226 federal judges during his first term — including three Supreme Court justices — selected through the Federalist Society ideological vetting process. Multiple nominees had stated in confirmation hearings that Roe v. Wade was 'settled law' and then voted to overturn it. Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed after credible sexual assault allegations from Christine Blasey Ford; Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed 8 days before an election in explicit reversal of the McConnell rule applied to deny Merrick Garland a hearing for nearly a year.","summary":"The Trump-McConnell judicial project placed 226 federal judges and three Supreme Court justices — the highest court transformation since Reagan. Kavanaugh was confirmed in a process widely criticized for inadequate FBI investigation of sexual assault allegations. Barrett was confirmed after McConnell refused to hold hearings for Merrick Garland for 293 days, then confirmed Barrett in 27 days. Justices Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Gorsuch each made statements about settled law at confirmation that were contradicted by their votes in Dobbs v. Jackson.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"extreme","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/26/us/politics/amy-coney-barrett-confirmed.html","title":"Amy Coney Barrett Confirmed to Supreme Court in 52-48 Vote","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/us/roe-wade-overturned-supreme-court.html","title":"Roe v. Wade Overturned","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kavanaugh-confirmation-hearings-settled-law/2018/10/06/","title":"What Kavanaugh said about 'settled law' at confirmation — and what he did in Dobbs","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/06/us/politics/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-confirmed.html","title":"Brett Kavanaugh Confirmed as Supreme Court Justice","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trumps-federal-judgeships-impact-2024-11-05/","title":"The impact of Trump's 226 federal judicial appointments","publisher":"Reuters"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["judicial-appointments","Supreme-Court","Kavanaugh","Dobbs","McConnell-rule","first-term","rule-of-law"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2016-02-13","title":"Scalia dies; McConnell refuses Garland hearing","summary":"Justice Antonin Scalia dies. President Obama nominates Merrick Garland on March 16. Senate Majority Leader McConnell refuses to hold any hearing, declaring it 'the Biden rule' that a Supreme Court vacancy in an election year should not be filled until after the election."},{"date":"2017-01-31","title":"Gorsuch nominated to Scalia's seat","summary":"Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court seat that had been vacant for nearly a year. Gorsuch is confirmed in April 2017 after McConnell uses the 'nuclear option' to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees."},{"date":"2018-07-09","title":"Kavanaugh nominated","summary":"Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. At his confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh describes Roe v. Wade as 'settled law' and testifies extensively about his temperament and judicial record."},{"date":"2018-09-27","title":"Christine Blasey Ford testifies","summary":"Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when both were in high school. Her testimony is widely assessed as credible; Kavanaugh denies all allegations."},{"date":"2018-10-06","title":"Kavanaugh confirmed 50-48","summary":"The Senate confirms Kavanaugh on a 50-48 vote — the narrowest Supreme Court confirmation in modern history. The White House had limited the FBI supplemental investigation to a single week with a restricted scope."},{"date":"2020-09-26","title":"Barrett nominated 8 days before the election","summary":"Following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett 38 days before the presidential election. McConnell confirms her 8 days before Election Day, 267 days faster than the pace at which he had blocked Garland."},{"date":"2022-06-24","title":"Dobbs overturns Roe v. Wade","summary":"The Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that the Constitution provides no right to abortion, overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The five-justice majority includes all three Trump appointees, along with Justice Thomas and Justice Alito. Kavanaugh and Barrett both vote to overturn the 'settled law' they had described at their hearings."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women","article":"Article 16","provision":"Reproductive rights and bodily autonomy of women are protected under CEDAW — the Dobbs decision, which overturned 50 years of reproductive rights precedent, resulted from the judicial appointments made by Trump"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Pregnant people who lost abortion access in the states where Dobbs had immediate effect; Christine Blasey Ford and others who came forward during the Kavanaugh confirmation; Merrick Garland and the principle of consistent constitutional norms","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President of the United States — made appointments","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Mitch McConnell","role":"Senate Majority Leader — managed confirmation process and invented and then reversed the 'McConnell rule'","institution":"U.S. Senate"},{"name":"Leonard Leo","role":"Federalist Society co-chairman; primary judicial vetting authority","institution":"Federalist Society"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2022-06-24","summary":"Updated with Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade."}]}}