Senate confirms Trump's first judicial nominee of his second term

The Senate on Monday confirmed the first judicial nomination of President Trump’s second term, building on his promises to remake the judiciary with a conservative bent.

Whitney Hermandorfer was confirmed to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by a 46-42 vote. No Democrat supported her confirmation.

The 6th Circuit hears appeals from Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky. Currently, the court has 10 active judges who were appointed by GOP presidents and six active judges who were appointed by Democrats. 

Ms. Hermandorfer was the seventh Trump appointee to the court.

There are currently 49 vacancies on federal district and appeals courts for Mr. Trump to fill, according to the U.S. Courts website. 

Mr. Trump has nominated 11 district-court judges, but the Senate has confirmed none so far. Three other circuit-court nominees besides Ms. Hermandorfer are sitting before the chamber now.

One of Mr. Trump’s most significant first-term accomplishments was to appoint three Supreme Court justices, 54 circuit court judges and 174 district court judges. He promised to appoint conservative, pro-life jurists.

According to The Associated Press, former President Joe Biden confirmed 235 federal judges during his four years, while Mr. Trump’s first term saw 234 total.

Ms. Hermandorfer worked for the Attorney General of Tennessee, where she advocated for the state’s near-total ban on abortion and fought a Biden-era rule pertaining to school policies on transgender students.

Mr. Trump has touted the fact that she served as co-captain of the women’s basketball team at Princeton University and is a “defender of Girls’ and Women’s Sports.”

“She has a long history of working for Judges and Justice’s who respect the rule of law, and protect our Constitution, including Justice Samuel Alito and two fine Supreme Court Justices I appointed in my First Term,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social.

Ms. Hermandorfer clerked for Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and for Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh when he was on the D.C. Circuit.

Rachel Rossi, president of the progressive Alliance for Justice, said Ms. Hermandorfer lacked experience and would be a Trump loyalist.

“Executive actions and policies can be undone eventually, but judges serve for life. It’s extremely disappointing to see senators compromise the future of our rights out of their fealty to Trump,” she said.