President Donald Trump thanked former Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday for weakening the Senate filibuster on confirming judges.
“Thank you very much Harry, I hope you are enjoying your evening,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Jacksonville, Florida.
“Remember that it was Harry Reid that made this all possible,” Trump said, referring to the former Senate Majority Leader who in 2013 ended the requirement for a two-thirds majority (60 votes) to confirm most judicial appointments, with the exception of Supreme Court justices.
President Donald Trump often boasts of his accomplishments in nominating federal judges, and for good reason: at the close of his first term, he will have confirmed more judges to the federal judiciary in one term than any recent U.S. president.
As of October 5, according to the Heritage Foundation, Trump has confirmed 218 judges to Article III courts — that is, the “Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. courts of appeals, the U.S. district courts and the U.S. Court of International Trade.”
On October 26, that number will rise to 219 with the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
No president in the past four decades has appointed more judges in a first term. The only one who appointed more was Jimmy Carter, who appointed 248 — but he had the advantage of an expanded federal judiciary.
