Trump’s judge appointment blitz faces Republican resistance

The Trump administration's final push to appoint judges before Democrats gain control of the Senate has encountered opposition from some Republican senators. While Senate Republicans had previously approved the president's judicial nominees for lifetime positions on district and appeals courts during his second term, a handful of Republicans have blocked or questioned three nominees from their home states.

Traditionally, senators from a given state play a role in selecting judges for vacancies within their jurisdictions. However, the White House has occasionally chosen conservative candidates to fill these seats despite the objections of Republican senators. In one instance, the White House withdrew the nomination of US District Judge Lee Rudofsky to the St. Louis-based 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals and replaced him with Arkansas Supreme Court Justice J. Cody Hiland after Arkansas Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton raised concerns.

Some Republican senators, including Alan Armstrong of Oklahoma and John Cornyn of Texas, have withheld public support for two nominees in their respective states. Tillis, who has a strained relationship with Trump, stated that the White House often tells senators, "This is our guy, I hope you'll get on board," which is not how the process is supposed to work.

Cornyn has also declined to commit to supporting T. Elliot Gaiser, Trump's nominee for a federal judgeship in Dallas, who was selected without the usual senator-driven screening process in Texas.

As the Senate prepares to finalize its judicial nominations during the lame-duck session, 23 nominees remain pending confirmation, including Colorado-based US District Judge Daniel Domenico. However, Tillis and Cornyn, who are both nearing the end of their terms, have indicated they may block some nominees before the Senate Judiciary Committee.