Democratic report criticizes 'breakneck pace' of judicial confirmations, lack of diversity
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President Donald Trump’s nominees to the federal courts are being quickly approved despite a lack of diversity, according to a report by Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The report alleges the Trump administration has a “commitment to nominate ideological, often-unqualified candidates,” report Politico and the Washington Times. Nominees are being quickly approved, even when home-state senators withhold support, the report says.
The report has the figures on diversity as of May 7. At that time, women made up 8 percent of Trump’s U.S. attorney nominees, 25 percent of district court nominees, and 19 percent of appeals court nominees,
Minorities made up 8 percent of Trump’s U.S. attorney nominees, 8 percent of district court nominees, and 11 percent of appeals court nominees.
In Barack Obama’s first year in office, 42 percent of his judicial nominees were women and 52 percent were minorities.
The report also says the Senate is approving Trump’s nominees at a “breakneck pace” intended to change the nature of the federal judiciary.
After 328 days in office, Trump won confirmation for 12 of his appeals court nominees—the most in a president’s first year since creation of the circuit court system in 1891, the report says. Trump’s appellate nominees were approved by the Senate an average of just 20 days after being voted out of the committee—which is eight times faster than Obama’s nominees.
