In a notable shift from his first term, President Donald Trump is signaling a new approach to selecting judges as he begins his second term.
This change appears to favor more openly combative, MAGA-aligned nominees over candidates with elite educational backgrounds and traditional conservative ideologies.
Recently, Trump captured attention by launching a harsh critique of Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society, the influential conservative legal network that helped him nominate 234 judges in his first term, including three Supreme Court justices.
The impact of Trump’s judicial selections is widely regarded as one of his most significant achievements, particularly the establishment of a conservative 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court that led to the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
However, after a judicial panel, including one of his own appointees, blocked some of his tariffs, Trump expressed his disappointment in Leo on Truth Social, labeling him a ‘sleazebag’ and criticizing the advice given to him during judicial nominations.
Leo has since praised Trump’s first term judicial appointments as part of his ‘most important legacy.’
Among Trump’s early second-term nominees, considerable interest surrounds Emil Bove, his former personal criminal defense lawyer and a current Justice Department official, who has been nominated for the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ed Whelan, a conservative judicial nominations analyst, notes that Bove is seen as someone who has diligently implemented the White House’s objectives, generating excitement within MAGA circles.
However, this approach to judicial nominations has raised alarms among some conservative legal experts who advocate for a judiciary devoid of partisanship.
Gregg Nunziata, a former chief nominations counsel for Senate Republicans, has remarked that Trump’s focus seems to have shifted toward placing nominees who are loyal to his agenda rather than those committed to conservative jurisprudence.
He emphasized that this change marks a potential turning point in Trump’s relationship with the traditional conservative legal movement, leading to fears that the former president might abandon his first-term legacy of prioritizing conservative legal principles.
Interestingly, some conservatives have welcomed Trump’s claims for a different style of nominee, including Mike Davis, former Senate GOP chief counsel for nominations, who now leads the Article III Project advocacy group.
Davis has suggested that Trump should seek out judicial candidates more aligned with MAGA perspectives and criticizes previous nominees who hesitated to speak out against perceived legal aggressions against Trump during the Biden administration.
Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, noted that some current federal judges might hesitate to retire if they doubt that Trump will appoint qualified successors.
Whelan confirmed that he has heard from a conservative judge who opted not to retire due to uncertainty regarding who would replace them.
During Trump’s first term, Leonard Leo was instrumental in advising the president on judicial selections, helping to craft a list of potential Supreme Court nominees amidst concerns in the right-wing about Trump’s willingness to pick a sufficiently conservative justice to succeed Antonin Scalia.
Now, in his second term, daily oversight of judicial nominations falls to deputy White House counsel Steve Kenny, along with input from chief of staff Susie Wiles and Trump himself.
A senior White House official has stated that the administration seeks judges who are constitutionalists and do not engage in judicial activism on the bench.
The official indicated that the judicial philosophy they are looking for mirrors that of conservative Supreme Court justices like Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who are viewed within MAGA circles as more aligned with Trump’s vision than his first-term appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
While the alliance between the Trump administration and the Federalist Society has yielded considerable achievements, few Senate Republicans have publicly defended Leo following Trump’s disparaging remarks.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a senior Judiciary Committee member, stated his intention to remain uninvolved in those ‘personality conflicts.’
Other senators, such as John Kennedy, R-La., have also refrained from commenting directly on the dispute, while expressing their support for the Federalist Society.
Chuck Grassley praised Trump’s initial batch of judicial nominees, emphasizing the Republican focus on appointing strong conservatives to the federal bench.
Despite prior successes, even as Trump embarks on his second term, hints of a different focus in judicial nominations were evident once he was re-elected, given that Leo no longer plays an advisory role to Trump.
Criticism of judges who have ruled against the administration in its early months is also growing, with both Barrett and certain lower court judges becoming particular targets.
According to a senior Republican lawyer close to the White House, Trump is leaning towards nominating judges who reflect the more practical side of law, contrasting with the intellectual approach often associated with Federalist Society lawyers.
Democrats are interpreting Trump’s public distance from the Federalist Society and refusal to engage with the American Bar Association—as part of a broader strategy to avoid scrutiny over the beliefs and backgrounds of his nominees.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has articulated concerns that the lack of transparency in the nomination process could undermine the integrity of the judiciary.
Currently, Trump has announced two nominees for federal appeals courts and nine for district courts.
In addition to Bove, nominee Whitney Hermandorfer has been put forward for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, while Bove is seen as diverging from typical Federalist Society recommendations.
In contrast, Hermandorfer aligns closely with the traditional Federalist Society model, having clerked for prominent justices such as Barrett, Alito, and Kavanaugh.
She has also been involved in several cases linked to cultural issues during her tenure with the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, inspiring confidence among some conservatives about her potential judicial philosophy.
During her confirmation hearing, Hermandorfer emphasized her commitment to judicial integrity, asserting that her role would be to carry out her oath rather than fulfill the president’s wishes.
While the federal judiciary currently faces 49 vacancies, only three affect appeals courts, with some judges recently announcing retirement plans.
Many judges are expected to feel more inclined to retire when their party’s sitting president shares their affiliation.
Though there are 24 Republican-appointed appeals court judges eligible for retirement, anticipation surrounds how Trump will navigate this complex landscape of nominations during his second term.
Despite the complications of this transition, Whelan has warned that finding experienced conservative lawyers disconnected from the Federalist Society could prove challenging.
As Trump advances through his second term, Nunziata suggests it is crucial for GOP senators to scrutinize nominees like Bove, stressing that any lack of resistance may convey to Trump that he has a “free hand” in his future selections.
With time running out, he expressed hope for a resurgence of pushback against nominations straying from acceptable conservative standards.
While former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell previously played a pivotal role in guiding Trump’s initial judicial appointments, McConnell’s office declined to comment on the current direction of nominations.
Democrats strongly believe that nominees such as Bove represent a clear intent by Trump to prioritize loyalty over judicial impartiality.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, encapsulated this sentiment, suggesting Trump is prioritizing relationships over qualifications in his selection process.
When questioned about whether Republicans would oppose Trump’s nominees, Hirono simply replied, ‘Of course not.’
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