Senate Confirms First Trump Judicial Nominee Since February

The Senate confirmed its first judge since February after the pandemic delayed one of President Donald Trump’s most successful missions: reshaping courts with conservatives.

Scott Rash was cleared by the Republican-led chamber, 74-20, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

Rash, a state court judge in Arizona, will fill one of two seats on that trial court considered a “judicial emergency,” a term given to a vacancy that increases the workload for the remaining judges.

Rash’s confirmation brings Trump’s total number of combined district and appellate appointees to 190, in addition to two Supreme Court justices. Of the roughly 80 vacancies in federal trial and appeals court, more than half have a nominee in the pipeline, and a majority of them still need a hearing before the Judiciary Committee.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last week filed cloture, or a motion to end debate and move a nominee toward a confirmation vote, on three other district nominees. The timing of votes, however, is not clear for Anna Manasco for the North District of Alabama; John Heil for the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma; and John Badalamenti for the Middle District of Florida.

Nominee Scheduled

The Judiciary Committee is also continuing its role of reviewing and approving Trump’s nominees, with an emphasis on those up for appeals courts.

The committee heard testimony from Justin Walker, Trump’s pick for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit days after the chamber returned to business after weeks away over the pandemic and is set to hear testimony from Fifth Circuit nominee Cory Wilson on Wednesday.

Wilson this week received a “Well Qualified” rating from a committee of the American Bar Association that reviews and rates nominees, improving on his previous “Qualified” rating for the Southern District of Mississippi seat. His nomination to that court was dropped after he was picked for the New Orleans-based appeals court.

Wilson’s Fifth Circuit selection replaced the president’s previous pick, Halil Suleyman Ozerden, whose nomination faltered after facing Republican opposition in the Judiciary Committee.