Eighth Circuit Judge Duane Benton will step back from active service, teeing up President Donald Trump to fill another seat on the St. Louis-based federal appeals court.
The George W. Bush appointee notified the White House in an Oct. 24 letter of his plans to take senior status when a successor is confirmed. Benton shared a copy of the letter with Bloomberg Law.
Benton said he plans “to continue to render substantial judicial service as a senior judge.” He earlier served on the Supreme Court of Missouri.
Benton’s move will allow Trump to appoint his fifth judge to the Eighth Circuit. The court has a supermajority of Republican appointees, with only one member, Jane Kelly, put on the bench by a Democrat, Barack Obama.
The majority of Trump’s appointees during his second term so far have been to federal courts in Missouri, including US District Judge Joshua Divine, the state’s former solicitor general who sits on both the Eastern and Western districts. Trump also appointed three judges to the Eastern District of Missouri during his first term, including Judge Sarah Pitlyk.
None of Trump’s Missouri appointees so far are based out of Kansas City, Missouri, where Benton’s seat is located.
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