John Yoo: Trump reelection could flip federal appellate courts from liberal to conservative control

[Draggingtree]

Hoover Institute

John Yoo: Trump reelection could flip federal appellate courts from liberal to conservative control

Supreme Court battles attract attention, but appellate court appointments are vitally important

President Trump has pursued an equally aggressive campaign to remake the lower courts as he has the Supreme Court.

While Supreme Court battles attract the political attention, presidents may achieve equally lasting influence through their appointments to the appeals courts, where 99 percent of all federal cases end.

In his first three years in office, Trump had successfully appointed a record 50 judges to the U.S. circuit courts of appeals. For comparison purposes, by the same point in their first terms, President Obama had appointed just 19 and President Bush 26.

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With the cooperation of the Republican Senate, Trump also pushed the judges through far faster than his predecessors. After three years in office, Trump had already set a modern record for the appointment of appeals court judges.