Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee cleared four of President Trump’s judicial nominees. The committee approved Kevin Newsom for the Eleventh Circuit, 18-2, John Bush for the Sixth Circuit and Damien Schiff for the Court of Claims,, 11-9, and TimothyKelly for the U.S. District Court in D.C. by a voice vote. Progressive activist groups have been actively opposing Bush and Schiff, alleging that past statements made in blog postsor social media should disqualify them from the bench.
Meanwhile, yesterday President Trump also announced eleven additional judicial nominees, all for district courts. This continues the Administration’s effort to put forward a new batch of judicial nominees each month. Notably, however, the latest set of nominees does not include any appellate nominations, even though a significant number of appellate vacancies remain. As of this morning, there are 18 current and pending vacancies on federal circuit courts without nominees.