President Trump on Wednesday hit a new milestone: The Republican-controlled Senate confirmed the President’s 200th judicial nominee.
The confirmation of Judge Cory Wilson on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, located in New Orleans, adds to Trump’s successful push toward a more conservative federal judiciary and its impact will be felt for decades.
“Decades after Trump has left the White House, progress in our nation will be hamstrung by his record number of partisan, ideological judges,” Christopher Kang, chief counsel at We Demand Justice, a progressive organization aimed at restoring ideological balance federal courts, told TPM. “We need to fight to reform our courts — from the Supreme Court on down — in order to restore their legitimacy and ensure lasting change.”
With the help of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Trump has managed to profoundly shift the judiciary during his first term. Trump’s most recent appointment, who hails from the Mississippi courts, brings with him a conservative record.
He opposes the Affordable Care Act; the judge once referred to the ACA’s passage as both “perverse” and “illegitimate.” Wilson has also made false claims about voter fraud and has clashed with voting-rights activists by pushing for voter ID laws, which have historically impacted communities of color. The judge has also supported anti-LGBT legislation and the gun lobby.
Trump has successfully nominated 53 appeals court judges, 143 district court judges, two U.S. Court of International Trade judges, according to CNN. Trump also nominated Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, the latter of whom has come under fire recently for siding with his liberal counterparts to uphold workplace discrimination protections for LGBTQ workers.
Trump shares his judicial confirmation wins with McConnell, who is seeking reelection in November. The Republican senator helped to maneuver a change in the Senate rules that sped up the confirmation process for judicial nominees and got rid of a 60-vote threshold for minority filibusters.
