ABRAnews Open the whole story. Sign in
US Politics

White House pulls appeals court pick opposed by Arkansas's two Republican senators

Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, both Republicans, also raise concerns about other nominees as the party rushes to confirm judges before losing the Senate.

13 news outlets reported this
Liberal5 outletsTrump's judicial push meets Democratic Senate resistanceCenter2 outletsRepublican senators' own objections complicate Trump's nominationsConservative6 outletsConfirm every judge before the Democratic takeover
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min read
Overview

Republicans are racing to confirm as many of President Trump's judicial nominees as they can before Democrats take control of the Senate in January. Republicans lost both and the Senate in the Nov. 3 . But some Republican senators are slowing the push.

On Tuesday the White House withdrew Lee Rudofsky, its nominee for the 8th Circuit , after Arkansas Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton did not back him. Cody Hiland, an Arkansas justice, was nominated at the same time. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, said he is "calling a foul on a process."

A committee vote on Oklahoma nominee Zachary West was postponed after Sen. Alan Armstrong reversed his earlier support. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said Elliot Gaiser, a official nominated for a Dallas-area judgeship, has not been through the bipartisan vetting panel Texas traditionally uses. As of Wednesday, 24 judicial nominations were pending, according to the Judiciary Committee.

The Senate has confirmed 57 judges in Trump's second term. The committee also voted Tuesday to advance four district court nominees.

Key figures
  • 24 judicial nominationsTrump nominations pending in the Senate as of Wednesday, per the Judiciary CommitteeThe Boston Globe
  • 57 judgesconfirmed so far in Trump's second termThe Boston Globe
  • 28 vacanciescurrently open on the federal courtsCBS News
  • 15 seatsmore that will open in coming weeks and monthsCBS News
  • 12-10 majorityRepublican edge on the Senate Judiciary Committee, per the Washington ExaminerWashington Examiner

Three sides of the story

5Liberal2Center6Conservative

13 news outlets reported this

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal5 outlets

Trump's judicial push meets Democratic Senate resistance

The Boston Globe runs the Associated Press report headlined "White House faces unusual obstacle on confirming Trump judges: other Republicans." It opens on senators complicating the plan and carries Tillis's message to the White House: "Don't treat us like a manufacturing facility." CBS News leads with Trump's push to move the courts right, which "could be coming to an end" as Democrats are poised to take the Senate.

It quotes Sen. Dick Durbin calling the GOP effort a "desperate attempt" to confirm loyalists, and Sen. Chuck Grassley answering that the committee has "shortened timelines when circumstances warrant it." Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center tells CBS that once Democrats control the Senate, "No one, or nearly no one, is going to get confirmed." Rachel Rossi of the Alliance for Justice hopes Democrats will stand against further reshaping.

The New York Times headline calls it an "Aggressive Lame-Duck Push" by Republicans to install Trump judges, and the paper reports that Democrats promise to do what they can to stop it.

Center2 outlets

Republican senators' own objections complicate Trump's nominations

The Seattle Times runs the Associated Press report, "White House faces unusual obstacle on confirming Trump judges: other Republicans." It opens on several GOP senators complicating the White House's effort to shape the courts beyond Trump's term. The report centers on Cornyn and Tillis.

Tillis says he is not judging the merit of nominees. Cornyn calls the "air-drop" of Gaiser a concern. Armstrong says his objections to West are "just purely qualification" compared with other candidates he suggested.

Boozman says "we talked with other people that were certainly as capable." Cotton declined to comment, and the White House has not answered the AP's question about why Rudofsky was withdrawn. The report adds that Grassley's committee counts 24 pending nominations and that Hern is due to be sworn in Nov. 30.

A Journal opinion piece headlined "The GOP's Narrow Window to Confirm Judges" contends Republicans must hurry to approve the largest number of pending judges before Democrats gain power.

Conservative6 outlets

Confirm every judge before the Democratic takeover

The Washington Examiner leads with Arkansas Republicans forcing Trump to drop an appeals court nominee. It quotes Tillis on blocking nominees over home-state objections: "No way, because I've got the deciding vote." Sen. Josh Hawley tells it "We do need to confirm every judge we can."

Just the News frames the push as the Republican version of what Democrats did for Biden. It quotes Trump's post on pending nominations and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urging "all-nighters." The Daily Signal reports Trump's call to confirm 25 federal judges and quotes Mike Davis of Article III Project and Zack Smith of the Heritage Foundation on the urgency.

It also reports that Thune refused Trump's request to end blue slips. The Federalist reports the committee advancing four district nominees, three on a 12-10 party-line vote, and quotes Boozman on protecting senators' prerogative.

What a side did not mention
  • Conservative outlets did not mentionCornyn noted Gaiser's ties to efforts to overturn the 2020 result, and testimony to the Jan. 6 committee says Gaiser advised Trump's campaign on its election challenges Reported by The Boston Globe, The Seattle Times
All sources: 18 articles from 13 outlets

Liberal (7)

Center (2)

Conservative (9)

Related
  1. Guardian: Cost of living is a top worry for voters as midterms near
  2. Democrats win both the House and Senate in midterm elections
  3. Schumer says Senate Democrats will not allow a "right-winger" on the Supreme Court
  4. Republicans split over how to move on after heavy midterm losses
  5. White House pulls appeals court pick opposed by Arkansas's two Republican senatorsThis story
Senate

The upper chamber of Congress: 100 senators, two per state, elected for six years. It confirms judges and ministers and approves treaties.

All terms →
House of Representatives

The lower chamber of Congress: 435 members elected every two years, with more seats for bigger states. It is the chamber that can impeach officials.

All terms →
Midterm elections

US elections halfway through a president's four-year term. The whole House, a third of the Senate and many governors are elected. In 2026 Election Day was November 3.

All terms →
Appeals court

A court that reviews a lower court's decision for legal mistakes. It does not hear witnesses again, and above the federal appeals courts there is only the Supreme Court.

All terms →
Supreme Court

The highest US court: nine justices, appointed for life by the president with the Senate's approval. Its rulings bind every other court.

All terms →
Justice Department

The federal ministry that prosecutes federal crimes. The FBI is part of it, and its head is the Attorney General.

All terms →
GOP

“Grand Old Party”: a nickname for the Republican Party, used since the 1870s. GOP and Republican mean the same thing.

All terms →
Wall Street

A street in New York where the stock exchange stands. In the news it means US financial markets and the big banks and investment firms as a whole.

All terms →