John Thune: “I am excited that the White House has started sending over judicial nominations and eager to get to floor confirmation…”

“I am excited that the White House has started sending over judicial nominations and eager to get to floor confirmation of Trump's nominees. One of the great achievements of President Trump's first term was the confirmation of some 234 judges to the Federal bench. At the start of the first Trump administration, the President and Congress were faced with well over 100 openings in the judiciary, a daunting number but an incredible opportunity to shape the Federal bench. The administration got right to work on identifying good judicial candidates, and Leader McConnell determined that we were going to fill those slots and others that would open up--and not just fill them, of course. The President and Leader McConnell and then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley were determined to fill them with the right kind of judges, judges who would faithfully interpret the law, not attempt to legislate from the bench. Our interest was in putting judges on the bench who would look at the law, the Constitution, and the facts of the case and rule based on those criteria and nothing else.”