Published on-line Sept. 10 and on the front page of Monday's newspaper.
President Donald Trump keeps raising the issue, this week releasing a list of potential future Supreme Court picks that included Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Vice President Mike Pence has likewise made the case to conservatives that four more years means "more judges."
But the reality — in Texas, at least — is that there are currently no federal judgeships to be filled.
Dateline - Washington, right? And why the long article if it's of no importance to Texans? BTW, the author cut his teeth in uber-liberal Austin, TX.
Candidate Trump raised the specter that the election of Democrat Hillary Clinton to the White House would tilt the court’s make-up for a generation. He took the unconventional step at the time of releasing a list of judges from which he would nominate to the high court.
There were other, less subtle, differences between the two candidates. However,
The tactic worked.
For many Republicans wary of Trump, either due to policy or personality, the prospect of stocking the federal judiciary with conservative judges was the "main justification for holding their nose and voting for Trump" four years ago, Steinhauser [Austin-based GOP consultant] said. "I heard that again and again," he said.And Trump delivered. Again and again and again.
What’s undeniable is that Trump came into office with an unusual number of court vacancies to fill and a plan to reshape the judiciary long-term.
Because Obumble had different priorities, and the Pubs slow-walked the nomination, you know, like Kavanaugh's nomination.
Take Texas, where 24 new Trump-appointed judges mean the federal courts are operating at full strength for the first time in years.
You say that like its a bad thing.
In the state’s four district courts, Trump nominees make up a plurality, meaning that more of his judges sit on the bench than any other president’s. The same is true for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Texas and two other states at a step below the Supreme Court.
Republicans also nominated younger judges. The average age of the Trump appointees in the Texas courts, for instance, is 51 years old, with the youngest judge being only 40. That means some of those judges could conceivably sit on the bench for the next four decades.Seems he learned to play the game very quickly.
"Mark my words, President Trump’s impact on our federal judiciary will be his greatest and most long lasting legacy," Cornyn said in a video for the recent GOP convention, adding that he was proud to help confirm 200 "highly respected constitutional conservative judges."
"Over the next four years, America’s president will choose hundreds of federal judges, and, in all likelihood, one, two, three, and even four Supreme Court justices," Trump said, adding the the nation’s "founding principles" are at stake.
Vacancies are indeed inevitable, and not just on the Supreme Court. Nearly two dozen judges on Texas' district courts and the 5th Circuit are of retirement age. Those potential openings are a way to touch on all manner of consequential issues that help fire up base voters.
"It boils down to who’s better at messaging — the Republicans, absolutely," Lisa Blue Baron, a Dallas attorney and major Democratic donor, said with some exasperation.
More about why that's a bad thing at the link. I left out most of the hand-wringing.