With President Trump’s Newest Appointment To The 9th Circuit, It’s Approaching a REPUBLICAN Majority!

Dan Bongino Exposes Obama, Mueller and Comey: “The Biggest Scam In American History”

Bloomberg had more on the huge turning point in the 9th Circuit:

The nation’s largest appeals court could as early as this week have more judges appointed by President Donald Trump than any other federal circuit.

Kirkland & Ellis partner Daniel Bress is poised to become the seventh Trump selection to join the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which the chief executive has castigated for being liberal and for ruling against his immigration and other policies.

The Senate approved, 50 to 42, a procedural motion July 8 to end debate on his nomination and clear the way for a confirmation vote in coming days.

With each new appointment, Trump gets closer to flipping the court to a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents.

Bress has been opposed by Democrats led by California’s two senators, Dianne Feinstein and 2020 presidential candidate Kamala Harris. They said his ties to California are insufficient to merit a lifetime appeals court seat and warned that his confirmation would “open the door” to the appointment of circuit nominees elsewhere with little to no local connections.

“It’s clear from his record that Mr. Bress does not have the connection to California that is necessary to represent the state on the Ninth Circuit,” Feinstein said at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting last month. “This a very important seat for the largest state in the union and I think it’s a mistake to give it away.”

Bress was born in Hollister, Calif., and worked as an associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson in San Francisco from 2007-08, but has since worked primarily in Washington.

Republicans looked at the Democrats’ complaint, but said that Bress had sufficient links to the state. He’s expected to easily win confirmation in the GOP-controlled chamber.

More Appointments

Trump’s judicial confirmation streak is a high point of his term so far for him and Republicans. He’s made good on a campaign promise to stock the judiciary with younger conservatives, appointing 41 judges to appeals courts, 80 to district courts, and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

The Ninth Circuit is by far the largest appeals court in the country, with 29 active judgeships. There are two vacancies, one of which is earmarked for Bress, who clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. There also will be two openings after that, with a duo of judges announcing plans to turn over their seats by taking senior status.

Trump’s getting closer to flipping the Ninth Circuit to a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents. Of the 27 current Ninth Circuit judges, 16 were appointed by Democrats and 11 by Republicans.

Still, the impact of his appointments can be felt in a narrow majority. Additional Republican appointees, for instance, could moderate majority opinions or write dissents that may prompt review from the Supreme Court.

Law.com had more to say:

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Kirkland & Ellis litigation partner Daniel Bress to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a 53-45 vote.

Bress, whose nomination had been opposed by California’s Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, is set to become the seventh judge appointed by President Donald Trump to take the Ninth Circuit bench. Feinstein and Harris had raised concerns prior to Bress’ confirmation hearing in May that he is a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer with little claim to a seat based in California. Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee including Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, however, dismissed those concerns, noting that Bress was born in rural California, has close family ties to the states, and still litigates in its courts. He passed out of the committee in a party line votelast month.

With one more seat currently open on the court’s 29-judge active bench and Ninth Circuit Judges Carlos Bea of Californiaand Jay Bybee of Nevada recently announcing their plans to take senior status, the president has the opportunity to further shape a court that he has frequently criticized for ruling against his administration. If Trump were to fill the current vacancy in Oregon as well as the seats currently occupied by Bybee and Bea, the court would have 16 active judges appointed by Democratic presidents and 13 by Republican presidents.

Tuesday’s vote marked the third time one of Trump’s California-based Ninth Circuit nominees has received Senate approval despite objections from Feinstein and Harris. Both Kenneth Lee and Daniel Collins were confirmed to the court in May despite the senators’ objections.

Want one?

Check availability here.