President Trump inherited over 100 open judgeships when he took office, and he’s almost exclusively nominated white men to take those jobs, the Associated Press reports.
According to a new AP analysis, 91 percent of Trump’s nominees for federal-appellate and district judgeships are white and 81 percent are male, meaning three out of four of his nominees are white men. (The last president to nominate this homogenous a group was President George H.W. Bush nearly 30 years ago.)
But, this homogeneity has been carefully crafted. Many of Trump’s appointments are being pushed by the Federalist Society, a group determined to fill the courts with young, hyperconservative judges, according to the New York Times.
One nominee for a judgeship in Eastern Texas said transgender kids prove that “Satan’s plan is working.” Another nominee, Leonard Steven Grasz, who is up for a spot on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, has supported “conversion therapy” according to Mother Jones.
To date, only 13 of Trump’s 58 nominations have been confirmed. Democrats have blocked some nominations using what is known as the “blue slip,” which allows minority legislators to have input on a nominee from their state.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has threatened to get rid of the “blue slip,” which, of course, he once implored President Obama to keep in place.
