Trump looks to cement legacy on judicial bench

In politics, executive orders and legislative wins can be fleeting. But judicial appointments can resonate for decades. 

President Trump and his team enter his second term fully aware of that fact and are prepared to cement his legacy when it comes to the judicial branch.

Trump in some ways owed his first victory in 2016 to a Supreme Court opening under former President Obama that nudged many voters into the GOP camp. In his first term, Trump nominated hundreds of federal judges and had the chance to appoint three Supreme Court justices, a rare feat for any president in under four years.

In his second term, Trump may not have as many federal vacancies to fill. But Trump and his team are highly motivated to put their imprint on the judiciary, particularly after spending the past year railing against judges they disagreed with as partisan.

"As important as the president's executive orders are, they will not outlive the next president that has a different perspective. They could be gone with the stroke of a pen, whereas the judicial branch serves for life. So this is a very long-term, long-game strategy, and it already has paid off from his first term,” said Carrie Severino, president of the judicial advocacy group JCN.

"I think President Trump recognizes that, I think his White House Counsel's office recognizes that, and I expect them to continue to make judicial selections a real priority,” Severino told The Hill.

White House counsel David Warrington will be central to identifying potential judicial nominees as vacancies arise. Warrington has spent years as a lawyer in Republican politics, most recently representing Trump in some of his personal legal cases.

While Trump in 2016 released a list of his potential Supreme Court nominees, sources familiar with the matter said he’s unlikely to publicly share a similar list this time. Trump has a track record having spent four years appointing judges, and some of those nominees, particularly at the appellate level, would naturally make sense as potential Supreme Court picks.

Trump appears likely to favor the most judges from the conservative-led 5th Circuit Court of Appeals with his eye on names like James Ho, Andrew Oldham and Kyle Duncan. There’s also Neomi Rao, who serves on the D.C. Circuit’s court of appeals.

Trump has already made a major mark on the judiciary having nominated 234 federal judges during his first term. Three of those were Supreme Court justices, meaning Trump has appointed one-third of the highest court in the land.

With his second term, Trump could leave an even greater mark. 

Federal data shows there are 43 current judicial vacancies, with another 10 expected to arise in the next year or so. That’s down significantly from Trump’s first term, when he entered office with 112 judicial vacancies to fill.

Supreme Court openings are always harder to predict, but four of the justices are at least 70 years old, meaning unexpected retirements are not out of the question. Justice Clarence Thomas is the oldest at 76.

In addition to the more traditional litmus test of being ideologically conservative, Trump and his team may be influenced by the president’s repeated claims of politicization of the judiciary and attacks on judges who oversaw his various criminal cases. 

That could mean judges who have ruled against him or with ties to other GOP administrations may not be nominated for higher courts, and it could mean judges who have shown a conservative track record, particularly on cases involving Trump or his administration, could benefit.

“During his first term, the Senate confirmed 234 of President Trump’s highly qualified judicial nominees," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement to The Hill. "This time will be no different – President Trump will once again nominate exceptional, principled individuals who are unwavering in their commitment to upholding the Constitution."

While Trump may not have the sheer volume of vacancies during his second term, the vacancies he does have are likely to be filled quickly. He enters with a 53-seat Republican majority in the Senate, meaning one or two Republicans can’t single-handedly tank a nominee and Democrats can only do so much to slow down confirmations.

One source close to the White House argued November’s election results at the congressional level showed voters didn’t just want Trump’s policies, but more Republican judges as well.

“We often talk about how elections have consequences, and the election of a Republican Senate  is where we’re going to see the incredible consequences of that,” the source told The Hill.

What to expect from Trump at CPAC

The president is not yet a confirmed speaker for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), but he is expected to address the gathering in Maryland this weekend.

The CPAC speech is one to watch, because it has often been where Trump has been at his most freewheeling and off-script. His 2024 speech, when he described himself as a “political dissident,” clocked in at just under 90 minutes. A 2019 speech he gave at the conference lasted more than two hours.

Trump’s comfort on the CPAC stage is largely because CPAC, like many aspects of the GOP, has gone fully MAGA in recent years.

CPAC straw polls showed strong support for Trump even back in July 2021, when some in the Republican Party were eyeing life after Trump when he left the White House twice impeached and under a cloud of controversy.

A look at the 2017 speaker lineup shows just how much the conference has narrowed to focus on the MAGA ideology. Eight years ago, speakers included then-Vice President Mike Pence and former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, both now in exile from Trump World.

Among the MAGA figures expected to address the conference this week are Vice President Vance, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, White House counselor Alina Habba and MyPillow founder and Trump supporter Mike Lindell.