Conservative legal scholars lavished praise on President Donald Trump’s latest round of judicial nominations, calling the list a vindication of a central campaign pledge.
The New York Times’ Adam Liptak reported late Sunday that the administration will submit ten nominees to judicial vacancies around the country early this week. Five of the nominations will be to federal appeals courts, four to district courts, and one to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Two of the district court nominees are individuals who former President Barack Obama originally selected.
As with the nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch, the White House solicited input from the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, two institutions who loom large in the conservative legal firmament.
The appeals court nominees include two individuals who appeared on Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court candidates: Justice Joan Larsen, a former Antonin Scalia clerk and law professor serving on the Michigan Supreme Court will be nominated to a seat on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Justice David Stras, a former Clarence Thomas clerk and academic serving on the Minnesota Supreme Court, will be nominated to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.