Judicial-Appointments

Senate Confirms Rebecca Taibleson to Seventh Circuit Despite Conservative Opposition

| Importance: 6/10

The Senate confirmed Rebecca Taibleson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit by a vote of 52-46, filling the seat vacated by Judge Diane Sykes who assumed senior status on October 1, 2025. Taibleson, who served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, …

Donald Trump Rebecca Taibleson Ron Johnson Tammy Baldwin U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit +1 more appeals-court courts judicial-appointments judiciary
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Senate Confirms Multiple Alabama District Court Judges in Late October

| Importance: 6/10

The Senate confirmed multiple Trump nominees to Alabama federal district courts in late October 2025, continuing the administration’s systematic reshaping of the federal judiciary. On October 21, Harold D. Mooty III was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama …

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Senate Confirms Jennifer Mascott to Third Circuit Court of Appeals

| Importance: 7/10

The Senate confirmed Jennifer Mascott to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by a vote of 50-47, marking Trump’s second appointee to this circuit in his second term. Mascott, a Catholic University law professor and former Trump White House lawyer, founded the Separation of Powers …

Jennifer Mascott U.S. Senate U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Donald Trump Federalist Society judiciary judicial-appointments courts appeals-court judicial-capture +1 more
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Senate Confirms Amy Coney Barrett 52-48 Eight Days Before Election, Creating 6-3 Conservative Supermajority

| Importance: 10/10

On October 26, 2020, the Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by a vote of 52-48, installing her on the bench just eight days before the November 3 presidential election and while millions of Americans had already cast their ballots. Barrett’s confirmation created a 6-3 …

Amy Coney Barrett Mitch McConnell Donald Trump Susan Collins Lisa Murkowski +1 more Supreme Court Judicial Appointments Hypocrisy Institutional Corruption Abortion Rights
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Trump Nominates Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court, Religious Conservative to Replace Liberal Icon Ginsburg

| Importance: 9/10

On September 26, 2020—just eight days after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death—President Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett, a religious conservative from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, to fill Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court. Barrett’s judicial record showed …

Donald Trump Amy Coney Barrett Mitch McConnell Ruth Bader Ginsburg Supreme Court Judicial Appointments Abortion Rights Religious Right Institutional Corruption
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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies 46 Days Before Election, McConnell Immediately Vows to Confirm Replacement Despite 2016 Standard

| Importance: 9/10

On September 18, 2020, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at age 87 from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, creating a Supreme Court vacancy just 46 days before the November 3 presidential election and while early voting was already underway in some states. In her final days, …

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Mitch McConnell Donald Trump Clara Spera John Roberts Supreme Court Judicial Appointments Hypocrisy Institutional Corruption
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Senate Confirms Kavanaugh 50-48 Despite Sexual Assault Allegations and Severely Limited FBI Investigation

| Importance: 9/10

On October 6, 2018, the Senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court by a vote of 50-48, making him the first justice in modern history confirmed with credible sexual assault allegations pending and despite obvious temperament problems that raised serious questions about his fitness for the …

Brett Kavanaugh Susan Collins Joe Manchin Lisa Murkowski Christine Blasey Ford +1 more Supreme Court Sexual Assault Judicial Appointments Accountability Crisis FBI
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Christine Blasey Ford Delivers Credible, Emotional Testimony Alleging Kavanaugh Sexual Assault, He Responds with Partisan Rant

| Importance: 9/10

On September 27, 2018, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her at a house party in 1982 when she was 15 and he was 17. Ford delivered four hours of credible, detailed, emotionally raw testimony …

Christine Blasey Ford Brett Kavanaugh Lindsey Graham Chuck Grassley Rachel Mitchell Supreme Court Sexual Assault Judicial Appointments Accountability Crisis
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McConnell Invokes Nuclear Option, Eliminates Filibuster for Supreme Court Nominees, Gorsuch Confirmed 54-45

| Importance: 9/10

On April 6, 2017, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invoked the “nuclear option”—a parliamentary procedure to change Senate rules by simple majority vote—to eliminate the 60-vote filibuster requirement for Supreme Court nominations, lowering the threshold to a simple 51-vote …

Mitch McConnell Neil Gorsuch Chuck Schumer Harry Reid Donald Trump Supreme Court Judicial Appointments Senate Rules Institutional Corruption Nuclear Option
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Obama Nominates Merrick Garland to Supreme Court, McConnell and Senate Republicans Refuse to Hold Hearings or Vote

| Importance: 9/10

On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick B. Garland, the widely respected Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death one month earlier. Garland was considered a …

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Justice Antonin Scalia Dies, McConnell Immediately Vows to Block Any Obama Nominee

| Importance: 9/10

On February 13, 2016, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died of apparent natural causes at a luxury resort in West Texas, creating a vacancy on the Court with nearly 11 months remaining in President Obama’s term. Within hours of Scalia’s death being announced, Senate Majority Leader …

Antonin Scalia Mitch McConnell Barack Obama Supreme Court Judicial Appointments Obstruction Institutional Corruption
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