One of the important ways that a U.S. President can maintain influence long after his or her term of office has ended is through exercise of the judicial appointment power. Because federal judges enjoy lifetime tenure, the judges he or she appoints determine legal outcomes for decades after the end of the President’s administration.

When President Trump took office again in January, he arrived with a judicial appointment track record from his first administration. He had appointed generally well-pedigreed judges that enjoyed the support and even the backing of the conservative Federalist Society. Now, in his second administration, where many of his Presidential initiatives are facing judicial challenges, Trump has soured on his first term appointments and turned on the Federalist Society. He has also adopted a transparently political approach to judicial appointments. Trump’s changed approach to judicial appointments could have significant implications for legal developments for decades to come.Continue Reading Trump 2.0 and the Judicial Appointment Power