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The GOP's Senate triumph means Trump can quietly continue reshaping the US courts at a historic pace
Senate Republicans will be able to confirm dozens of Trump's judicial nominees after Tuesday's midterm election wins, reshaping the US court system.
If there is one thing that has made Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stand out during the first two years of President Donald Trump's term, it's been the rapid pace at which the chamber has confirmed judges.
And after Tuesday night's midterm elections, it's clear that McConnell is going to get the opportunity to exercise that talent for at least another two years.
In the first two years of Trump's presidency, McConnell has been able to confirm a record number of judges. The number of circuit court judges confirmed under Trump are the most at this point in a presidency in nearly 40 years — and the 84 Trump-appointed judges confirmed across all courts is the most in one Senate dating back to President Ronald Reagan.
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The slew of judicial appointments were aided by McConnell's historic obstruction of President Barack Obama's judicial nominees from 2014 to 2016. By keeping all of those seats open, the Kentucky Republican has allowed Trump to already leave a major impact on America's court system.
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With the GOP picking up at least two and as many as four seats in the Senate on Tuesday, the pathway to more judicial confirmations may even become easier, as Republicans' razor-thin margin in the Senate over the past year gave moderate GOP members and Democrats the ability to block certain nominees.
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These Trump judges are likely to shape the political landscape for decades to come and help to preserve conservative policy gains around the country, since appointments on the country's highest courts are for life.
The focus on judges is also more likely given the Democrats victory in the House. There's not a lot of big, bipartisan legislation that's expected to pass (outside of required bills like funding measures) during the divided Congress.
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