President Trump Moves to Fill Court Vacancies

The Takeaway | May 8, 2017

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview. 

Yesterday, the White House announced its first ten judicial nominees for the more than 120 open positions in the lower courts across the country.

One of the nominees is a holdover from the Obama Administration who was blocked from confirmation by the Senate, but may have an easier go of things this time around. Republicans will only need 51 votes to fill the seats. Back in 2013, the Democrats eliminated the filibuster for presidential nominations below the Supreme Court.

The Trump Administration has plans to roll out more nominations over time to fill the 129 vacant judicial seats, which exist in all 11 circuits including Washington, D.C. 

For details, we turn to Meryl Justin Chertoff , executive director of the Justice and Society Program at The Aspen Institute.

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