(AmericanProsperity.com) – President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are appointing conservative federal judges at lighting speed. On Tuesday, McConnell said on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show that his “motto for the year is ‘leave no vacancy behind.’”
McConnell further said that the Senate was far from finished appointing judges in 2020.
Trump has nominated and the Senate under McConnell has confirmed almost 200 hundred judges to federal benches. Immediately after the impeachment trial concluded in the Senate, McConnell scheduled five more judicial nominations for a vote in the coming weeks.
Trump so far has nominated judges that Conservatives hope will have an impact on issues of religious freedom, Congressional redistricting, border security, abortion, gun rights, and other civil liberties.
Together, the two leaders have put their stamp on the federal courts and they don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
Republicans have Won!
Now, 24% of circuit judges are Trump appointees. Most are young and will shape American law for the next thirty to forty years. That number is going to grow in 2020, and beyond if Trump wins re-election.
One of the most important legacies of any president is the nomination of a judge. Long after a president is gone, federal judges who serve lifetime appointments shape law and cultural issues.
A former federal prosecutor and Georgetown Law Professor Paul Butler said that Trump has had a profound impact on the judiciary. “If there’s a contest about the future of law, of judicial interpretations, Republicans have won.”
While the Supreme Court may hear between 70 and 90 cases a year, lower federal courts hear thousands of cases. That means more conservative decisions that are important to those who believe in the original intent of the founders when it comes to personal liberties.
If You Like Small Government, You’ll Love Conservative Judges
Issues like religious freedom, gun rights, abortion, and other civil liberties are important. However, there is also a broader impact that courts can have in shaping the size and scope of government power.
For example, conservative judges are more likely to restrict unreasonable regulations. As a result, they will indirectly limit and make it more difficult for the executive branch to grow in both size and power without constraint.
According to George Mason University law professor Adam White, it can be quite profound. For example, federal agencies announce all kinds of regulations and take punitive actions to enforce them. Because Congress writes laws so vaguely, it’s often up to the federal agencies to interpret what Congress meant. Generally, the courts have deferred to the agencies.
However, White points out that many conservative judges and lawyers, including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, have raised serious questions about the courts’ willingness to defer to the executive branch. Conservative judges by their very nature are more inclined to be skeptical about executive power and abuse.
If Conservatives were uncomfortable with Trump in 2016, he has delivered strong on the lifetime appointment of conservative judges.
That’s great news for those who believe a smaller government is better for freedom and liberty.
~Here’s to Your Prosperity!
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