Another vacancy has opened up on the D.C. Court of Appeals, known by many as the seconded most powerful court in the land. With President Trump in the White House, the stars have aligned to appoint a conservative judge to fill the vacancy.
The Morning Beacon reports on the potential nominees:
Conservatives are seizing the opportunity created by a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Thursday, culling a shortlist of prospective nominees for a panel frequently called the second most powerful court in the nation.
The frontrunners for the vacancy created by Judge Thomas B. Griffith’s retirement are acting associate attorney general Claire Murray, deputy White House counsel Kate Todd, and U.S. District Judge Justin Walker, according to sources who have worked on judicial confirmations for the Trump administration. Other candidates are also under consideration, and the situation remains fluid.
The article goes on to say:
President Donald Trump’s stunning gauntlet of judicial confirmation successes will feature prominently in his reelection pitch. The D.C. Circuit nomination could mobilize conservatives in much the same way that Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation drove Republican energy in 2018. The vacancy also aligns with the Trump campaign’s messaging on deregulation and reducing agency power, given the D.C. Circuit’s heavy diet of agency-law cases.
Murray is widely seen as a strong contender for the federal bench and commands admiration across the administration. Todd, a former chief counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Litigation Center, has coordinated the administration’s judicial nominations process since 2018.
