As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump committed to “appoint strong and principled jurists to the federal bench who will enforce the Constitution’s limits on federal power and protect the liberty of all Americans.” He made good on that promise only one week after taking office by nominating Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Now he is taking the next step in carrying out his campaign promise by appointing highly qualified and principled judges to the lower federal courts.
According to Adam Liptak, tomorrow President Trump will be naming five new appellate nominees as well as four district court nominees and one nominee to the Court of Federal Claims. I will follow this post with a series of biographical posts on the appellate nominees, but I’m pleased to report that they are an exceptional slate that carries on the tradition this president began by nominating Justice Gorsuch. I hope that the Senate will move quickly to confirm them.
Update: Here are links to the bios of the appellate nominees:
- Sixth Circuit: Justice Joan Larsen
- Eighth Circuit: Justice David Stras
- Seventh Circuit: Amy Coney Barrett
- Sixth Circuit: John K. Bush
- Eleventh Circuit: Kevin Newsom