06.11.26

While Democrats Ramp Up Their Attacks on the Supreme Court, Republicans Confirm More Constitutionalist Judges

The Federal Bench Gained Two More Qualified Jurists This Week Thanks to President Trump and Senate Republicans. Meanwhile, Democrats Continue Their Campaign to Delegitimize the Supreme Court.

THIS WEEK, THE SENATE CONFIRMED TWO MORE ARTICLE III FEDERAL JUDGES, FURTHER SHAPING THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY

  • This week, the Senate confirmed Anthony Mattivi and Anthony Powell to be U.S. district judges for the District of Kansas. (PN851-4: Roll Call Vote #166 – 6/9/26; PN851-5: Roll Call Vote #168 – 6/10/26)
  • With this week’s action, the 119th Senate has now confirmed 42 judges to Article III appellate and district courts around the country. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 6/11/26)
    • This is ahead of the confirmation pace at this point in the first Trump administration (40). (U.S. Congress: President Trump Judicial Nominations (2017-2018) – accessed 6/11/26)
  • Thanks to President Trump and Senate Republicans’ commitment to confirming qualified judges in the first Trump administration and this Congress, a solid majority of circuit court judges consists of Republican appointees:
    • “Trump inherited a court of appeals dominated by Democratic appointees and, in four years, created a Republican-appointee majority by appointing 54 judges, 19 of whom (35%) replaced Democratic appointees. Biden had a more modest impact: fewer judges—45—only nine of whom (20%) replaced Republican appointees.” (Brookings: Paucity of vacancies slows Trump’s effort to reshape courts – 1/23/26)

judges

(Brookings: Paucity of vacancies slows Trump’s effort to reshape courts – 1/23/26)

  • These successes come in the face of historic opposition from Senate Democrats and declining rates of vacancies among current federal judgeships:
    • Democrats still have not allowed a single civilian nomination in President Trump’s second term to be confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent, the first time in recorded history this has happened. (U.S. Congress: 119th Congress Nominations – accessed 6/11/26; The Daily Caller: EXCLUSIVE: Thune Says Trump Nominees Are Being Confirmed At Rapid Pace Despite ‘Historic’ Obstruction – 6/14/25)
    • By contrast, in President Trump’s first term, 33 Article III federal judges were confirmed by voice vote. (U.S. Congress: President Trump Judicial Nominations (2017-2021) – accessed 6/11/26)
    • Vacancies are also declining: In the first year of President Trump’s first term, 77 vacancies were created in the federal judiciary; in the first year of his second term, President Trump only had 31 vacancies to fill. (Brookings: Paucity of vacancies slows Trump’s effort to reshape courts – 1/23/26)
    • “Far fewer judges are creating vacancies following Trump’s reelection than did judges after the elections of every president since at least George W. Bush, including Trump in his first term.” (Brookings: Paucity of vacancies slows Trump’s effort to reshape courts – 1/23/26)

ON THE OTHER HAND, DEMOCRATS ARE RESURRECTING THEIR THREATS TO PACK THE SUPREME COURT AND TRYING TO DELEGITIMIZE THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY

“Let’s invite ideas, for example, that are about Supreme Court reform, including the notion of expanding the court.” – Former Vice President Kamala Harris

  • “The point to understand is that Democrats have become more radical toward the Court since 2024.”
    • “Senate candidates James Talarico in Texas and Graham Platner in Maine want term limits for Justices, but don’t think they won’t go further when Democrats control the entire government again.”
    • “[W]hat really angers Democrats is that the Supreme Court is no longer a second progressive legislature that can impose policies they can’t get through Congress.”
    • “Democrats are telling the public they are plotting one of American history’s most destabilizing power grabs, by degrading the third branch of government.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Democrats Promise to Wreck the Supreme Court – 5/31/26)
  • Across the board, Democrats are gleeful at the chance to pack the court:
  • In 2024, when Democrats were last in charge and President Biden released a slew of radical Supreme Court proposals, a mere 29% of Americans supported increasing the number of Supreme Court justices. (Annenberg Public Policy Center Poll – 9/12/24)

THE RESULT OF DEMOCRATS’ ATTACKS: SUPREME COURT JUSTICES AND THEIR FAMILIES FACE INCREASED DEATH THREATS, “SWATTING” ATTEMPTS, AND ENDANGERMENT IN PUBLIC AND THEIR OWN HOMES

“I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.” – Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (3/4/20)

  • “Criticizing the court isn’t new, or improper, but the toxicity and personalization of the rhetoric has worsened. The institution isn’t a ‘cesspool of corruption devastating our communities’; nor has it been ‘hijacked’ by rogue ‘activists.’”
    • “Court-packing rhetoric doesn’t help.” (The Washington Post: Editorial: The rotten fruit of the campaign to delegitimize the judiciary – 5/30/26)
  • “In his 2024 annual report on the judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts said threats against judges had tripled. In the previous five years[,] U.S. marshals said they investigated more than 1,000 serious threats against federal judges.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Harassing Supreme Court Justice Barrett at Home – 6/7/26)
  • “The justices live with around-the-clock security and now must be much more careful during their limited public appearances.” (The Washington Post: Editorial: The rotten fruit of the campaign to delegitimize the judiciary – 5/30/26)
  • “A ‘neighbor’ of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett called Fairfax County police after 9 p.m. on Wednesday to report hearing ‘gunshots’ inside her residence.”
    • “The call was the latest instance of ‘swatting,’ a hoax intended to provoke a substantial law-enforcement response hat harasses and possibly harms a target — in this case, the justice, a mother of seven.” (The Washington Post: Editorial: The rotten fruit of the campaign to delegitimize the judiciary – 5/30/26)
  • “After a draft of the Dobbs decision leaked in May 2022, the left-wing group Ruth Sent Us published the home addresses of six justices and urged the public to ‘rise up to force accountability using a diversity of tactics.’ Weeks of illegal picketing outside their residences followed, culminating in the arrest of a man for attempting to kill Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh at his Maryland home.” (The Washington Post: Editorial: The rotten fruit of the campaign to delegitimize the judiciary – 5/30/26)
  • “Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said in 2023 that he was ‘driven around in basically a tank,’ and Barrett recounted being sent home from the court with a bulletproof vest. Her sister received a bomb threat last year.” (The Washington Post: Editorial: The rotten fruit of the campaign to delegitimize the judiciary – 5/30/26)
  • “Many U.S. Attorneys are swamped with threats against public figures. The National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) reported 133 federal criminal cases in 2025 involving threats against public officials, the highest since it began counting in 2013.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Harassing Supreme Court Justice Barrett at Home – 6/7/26)
  • “Judges have learned to alert local police departments when they issue controversial opinions.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Harassing Supreme Court Justice Barrett at Home – 6/7/26)