The surprising retirement announcement Thursday of a judge on the influential appeals court in Washington gives President Trump another opportunity to make his mark on the federal judiciary.Judge Thomas B. Griffith told court officials he plans to retire in September, just two months before the 2020 presidential election. The announcement clears the way for Trump to add a third judge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which has been a pipeline for nominees to the Supreme Court.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the Trump administration have already pushed through a record number of appeals court judges, and McConnell has signaled that will continue.
"They will do whatever they can to fill it," said Russell Wheeler of the Brookings Institution, who tracks judicial nominations. "I suspect they will be confirming judges even after Election Day."
Griffith, 65, was nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush and is a former Senate legal counsel. His announcement surprised colleagues at the courthouse, where he has served since 2005.