WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump鈥檚 first judicial pick of his second term, voting to approve Whitney Hermandorfer as a judge for the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The confirmation of Hermandorfer, who worked for Tennessee鈥檚 attorney general, comes after the Democratic-led Senate under former President Joe Biden and the Republican-led Senate in Trump鈥檚 first term .
The two presidents each worked to reshape the judiciary, with Trump taking advantage of a high number of and Democrats working to beat Trump鈥檚 number after he had the opportunity to nominate three Supreme Court justices.
So far in his second term, Trump has fewer vacancies to fill. While he inherited more than 100 vacancies from Obama, who was stymied by a Republican Senate in his final two years, Trump now has 49 vacancies to fill out of almost 900 federal judgeships.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said last week that the Senate would work to quickly confirm Trump鈥檚 judicial nominees, even though 鈥渨e鈥檙e not facing the number of judicial vacancies this Congress we did during Trump鈥檚 first term.鈥
Hermandorfer, who was confirmed 46-42 along party lines, has defended many of Trump鈥檚 policies as director of strategic litigation for Tennessee鈥檚 attorney general, including his bid to . Democrats and liberal judicial advocacy groups criticized her as extreme on that issue and others, also citing her office's defense of the state鈥檚 .
Before working for the Tennessee Attorney General, she clerked for three Supreme Court justices. But at her confirmation hearing last month, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware criticized what he called a 鈥渟triking brevity鈥 of court experience since Hermandorfer graduated from law school a decade ago.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Monday that Trump is only focused on 鈥渁 nominee鈥檚 perceived loyalty to him and his agenda 鈥 and a willingness to rule in favor of him and his administration.鈥
The Judiciary panel is scheduled to vote on additional judges this week, including top Justice Department official Emil Bove, a former lawyer for Trump who is nominated for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Bove鈥檚 nomination has come under scrutiny after a fired department lawyer claimed in a complaint that Bove used an expletive when he said during a meeting that the Trump administration might need to ignore judicial commands. Bove has pushed back against suggestions from Democrats that the whistleblower鈥檚 claims make him unfit for the federal bench.
Bove has also for refusing to hand over the names of agents who investigated the U.S. Capitol riot and of a group of prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 criminal cases.
