America KAVANAUGH It’s the Judges, Stupid! New president’s judicial choices set the direction for America. A BY HANS VON SPAKOVSKY AND THOMAS JIPPING


s the federal judiciary has intruded deeper and deeper into the political and cultural issues that


dominate our society these days, the president’s authority to appoint judges is more important than at any time in American history. This is especially true because


judges appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, have life tenure under Article 3 of the Constitution. The lawyers President Donald


Trump chooses to fi ll judicial vacan- cies around the country will serve long after he leaves offi ce, aff ecting our constitutional order and the rule of law for generations to come. Today, the U.S. district courts,


appeals courts, Court of Internation- al Trade, and Supreme Court have a combined 860 judgeships. Approximately 45 judges on these


courts decide to leave their appoint- ed positions each year, most by tak- ing “senior status,” continuing their judicial service but with a reduced case load. In his fi rst term, Trump appointed


12 NEWSMAX | JANUARY 2025


234 judges to Article 3 courts in the face of unprecedented obstructionist tactics by Senate Democrats. Tactics included requiring a separate cloture vote, or a vote to end debate, on 170 of those nominees — even though the same simple majority can end debate and then can confi rm a nominee. Only seven nominees of Presi-


dent Barack Obama, six by President George W. Bush, and just one by President Bill Clinton had to jump through the cloture delay tactic before being confi rmed. Those 234 confi rmed federal judg-


es included three crucial seats on the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Kavanaugh and Barrett replaced


justices uncommitted — or hostile — to interpreting the Constitution as written. Think about how important those appointments have been in cru- cial decisions made by the Supreme Court in just the past few years; deci- sions that once again illustrate how far the judiciary has become involved in important societal questions. These key decisions include fi nal- ly ending racial discrimination in


college admissions, a morally repug- nant practice of racial preferences that academic institutions across the country had embraced. The Supreme Court fi nally over-


turned Roe v. Wade, the deeply fl awed 1973 decision that created a fi ctional right to abortion in the Constitution, returning the authority to make deci- sions on that contentious issue to the American people and their elected representatives. The court threw out the reckless


Chevron decision, which distorted our system of separated powers by allowing unelected bureaucrats in executive branch agencies, rather than Congress, to make law. Think about the cases pending in


the Supreme Court’s current term, which started in October. These include U.S. v. Skrmetti, in which the Biden administration is challenging a Tennessee law that protects chil- dren by prohibiting so-called “gen- der-affi rming care” such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and genital surgery. Speaking of protecting our chil-


dren, how about another pending case, Free Speech Coalition Inc. v.


NYC SIGN/MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/GETTY IMAGES / PARENT/KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES MALLET/LIUDMILA CHERNETSKA©ISTOCK


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