WASHINGTON, D.C.—Conservatives are increasingly frustrated over the slow pace of the Senate’s confirming President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, and are calling for swift action from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Per Article II of the Constitution, every federal judge must be nominated by the president and then confirmed by the Senate. Nine months into the president’s term, a Senate controlled by the president’s party has confirmed only seven nominees out of 56, including one Supreme Court nomination.
Justice Neil Gorsuch was a unique case. It had been decades since there was a pending vacancy on the Supreme Court when a new president was sworn in, and there was a media frenzy that shined such a spotlight on the affable and mild-mannered appeals judge that it inescapably resulted in a speedy confirmation process. Senators get no credit for managing to confirm him, though they do deserve credit for keeping the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia open, and for invoking the nuclear option to ensure Justice Gorsuch’s ascension.
However, since Justice Gorsuch’s confirmation, the Senate has confirmed only six judges—less than one per month of the Trump presidency. At this rate, President Trump will see only a fraction of his 150-plus current and forthcoming nominations confirmed by the end of the current four-year term. Supporters of a judiciary that is faithful to the Constitution as written lay all the blame squarely on the Senate, and are pushing McConnell to do several things within his power to rapidly accelerate this process.
[contentcards url=”http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/10/24/conservatives-losing-patience-quickly-over-senate-pace-of-confirming-trumps-judicial-nominees/” target=”_blank”]