For Trump's Latest Judicial Nominees, Trump Is a Law Unto Himself - Balls and Strikes
Balls and Strikes
The August recess is over, which means that Senate Republicans are back to work ramming President Donald Trumps judicial nominees through the confirmation process. While the Senate was away, Trump announced another 10 nominees, all of whom recently appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Heres everything you need to know about the latest batch.
Vacancies
In the last few weeks, five more district judges have created vacancies for Trump to fill: Judges David Godbey and Jane Boyle of the Northern District of Texas, Mitchell Goldberg of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Cathy Seibel of the Southern District of New York, and David Proctor of the Northern District of Alabama. All five were appointed by President George W. Bush.
Texass district courtswhich already have 18 Trump appointees out of 52 total seatsnow have 10 total vacancies for Trump to fill. Because Goldberg and Seibel sit on courts in states with at least one Democratic senator, under the Judiciary Committees blue slip tradition, Trump cannot appoint their replacement unless those Democratic senators affirmatively sign off.
In total, just 24 judges have created new vacancies since Trumps reelection.
Why do Trump's nominees keep having a hard time saying that presidents can't use the military to kill their political opponents?
— Balls & Strikes (@ballsandstrikes.org) 2025-09-22T16:47:29.713Z