McConnell, Eyeing Legacy, Turns Senate Into Machine for Conservative Judges
- Almost 60 Trump nominees confirmed by GOP Senate this year
- ‘Grim reaper’ faulted for blocking gun, voting security bills
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks during a news conference in Washington on June 27, 2019.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are reshaping federal courts at a blazing pace, with the Senate’s confirmation of 59 judges so far this year offering a bright spot for the GOP leader who has been criticized for holding up action on just about everything else.
The Senate confirmed 13 district court judges two weeks ago before leaving for Congress’s annual August recess. That brought the number appointed so far in Trump’s presidency to 99, in addition to a record 43 appellate court judges and the confirmation of conservative Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.