Q&A of the Day – Current Federal Judges by President
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
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Today’s Entry: Hey Brian, it looks like there are plenty of activist judges stepping in again trying to stop MAGA. What I haven’t heard is how many judges Biden got through and onto benches across the country. How is this impacting Trump’s ability to enact his agenda? Thanks.
Bottom Line: With Republicans currently controlling the federal government and President Trump’s record pace of executive actions – there's no doubt that use of the legal system is viewed as the opposition’s best political weapon. Of course, this is nothing new to politics or even a Trump administration specifically. But what we have seen is unprecedented use of federal judges/courts by Democrats to attempt to stop President Trump’s agenda.
During Trump’s first administration Democrats sought to thwart his agenda at every turn in the courts. From construction of the border wall to the withholding of funds from sanctuary cities (both issues Trump won on in the end), Democrats weaponized the judicial system against Trump like we’d never seen. In total Democrats sought and received 64 nationwide injunctions against Trump’s policies during his first four years. How does that compare historically? Since 1963 there have only been a total of 127 nationwide injunctions issued – meaning over half of all federal injunctions sought and issued against an administration over the prior 62 years happened during President Trump’s first four years. Here’s a quick look at nationwide injunctions issued against an administration:
- Biden (4 years): 14
- Trump (4 years): 64
- Obama (8 years): 12
- George W. Bush (8 years): 6
92% of the injunctions issued against Trump’s policies during his first term were issued by judges appointed by Democrats. Fewer than ten of the injunctions were ultimately upheld. Given that reality by any objective measure Democrats, leftist groups and activist judges have abused the judicial branch in a clear effort to undermine the executive branch and also legislative branch with Republican control under Trump.
With ten injunctions already imposed or sought against President Trump’s second administration as of Monday – it's clear the tactic that proved effective for Democrats previously is back in play in a big way. On that note in addressing today’s question...how many federal judges were placed on the bench by President Biden? The answer is 241. Without context that probably does mean much. Let’s take a closer look at what the implications are in context.
The oldest appointed judges still serving on federal benches were appointed by President Reagan. Here’s the number of federal judges appointed by President:
- Reagan: 402
- H.W. Bush: 197
- Clinton: 387
- W. Bush: 340
- Obama: 334
- Trump: 245
- Biden: 241
So actually, of the presidents in scope, Biden’s appointments were about even with Trump’s and only George H.W. Bush seated fewer judges than Biden has. In other words, there was nothing unusual about the Biden administration’s effectiveness/level of success in appointing judges. Now, here’s a look at how many active judges are serving by presidential appointment:
- Reagan: 11
- H.W. Bush: 10
- Clinton: 30
- W. Bush: 115
- Obama: 242
- Trump: 233
- Biden: 237
Through this breakout we see that Presidents Obama and Biden currently have the highest number of active judges within federal judiciary. Another way of looking at it...
Percentage of federal judges appointed by Democrats:
- 58%
Compared to 42% by Republicans. Therefore, all other factors being equal, Democrats are likely to find sympathetic judges even without shopping for a particular judge or court. But of course, that happens as well. This topic is one of the most important dynamics in American politics that often is overlooked. President Trump managed to meaningfully overhaul the Supreme Court during his first term. It’s important that he works towards reshaping the rest of the federal judiciary in his second administration.