WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Law360 projected the Republican Party will regain control in the Senate, White House and House, “putting the GOP in position to back Donald Trump’s agenda and his slate of young, conservative judicial nominees.”
The Associated Press’s projections show Senator Deb Fischer maintaining her seat and West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and businessman Bernie Moreno flipping seats in Ohio and West Virginia. However, the majority in the House is still unknown according to Law360.
Trump is projected to nominate conservative judges that mirror his past appointees which were “76 percent male and 84 percent white,” based on the American Constitution Society’s findings, highlighting underrepresentation in the judicial system.
According to the Law360 article, Senator Chuck Grassley is projected to reclaim the Senate Judiciary Committee Chair, giving the upper hand to Republicans to shape the judiciary.
Grassley’s former communications director Michael Zona claims “assuming Republicans also take the White House, the top priority for the Judiciary Committee would be confirming young, qualified constitutionalist judges, and filling any vacancies that open up on the Supreme Court.”
Law360 also notes that many vacancies are expected in the “district and circuit court levels” after four years of Democratic control over the Senate and White House.
Grassley’s previous term from 2015 to 2019, under the Obama and Trump administration, shows that he tends to prioritize his agenda and confirm judges who aligned with his conservative ideology in spite of Democratic opposition, reports Law360, adding Zona compares Grassley to a “machine when it comes to processing nominations.”
Examples of Grassley’s assertiveness in judicial confirmation can be seen in the 85 confirmed federal judges such as “Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court,” and the elimination of blue slips deemed “unprecedented obstruction from Senate Democrats,” based on Law360’s findings.
Grassley’s refusal to confirm Merrick Garland allowed Justice Gorsuch to take the vacant seat in the Supreme Court, Law360 reports.
Grassley also nominated judges during an “election recess over the objection of Democrats” and “canceled and delayed votes” over the Mueller investigation, revealing him a “key cog in the administration’s mission to reshape the judiciary with mostly young and conservative picks,” noted Law360, saying, Grassley boasted “unparalleled success in confirming outstanding judges.”
The GOP’s hold over the Senate will cause the Democrats to try to “confirm as many of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees as possible,” Law360 exclaims.
Law360 also criticizes politically motivated charges against Trump and projects Special Counsel Jack Smith removal due to his previous criminal investigations on Trump.
The article concludes that “47 federal judicial seats are vacant, and 20 more are occupied by judges who have announced plans to assume senior status,” highlighting the concerns of many vacancies being up for grabs.
