New Fifth Circuit Judges Possible for Trump, Big Cases to Shift

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit may be cemented as an ultra-conservative powerhouse during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, even as it’s unlikely to hear the kinds of high-profile policy challenges that it did during the Biden administration.

Six of the court’s 17 active judges are eligible to step back from the bench, and four of them were nominated by Republican presidents. Edith Jones and Jerry Smith, are Ronald Reagan appointees, and Priscilla Richman and Leslie Southwick were appointed by George W. Bush.

That means the court, which already has six Trump appointees, could see its bench ...