Bridget Bade Confirmed to Ninth Circuit
Judge Bridget Bade has been confirmed to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, as the U.S. Senate pushes along President Trump's goal to reshape the traditionally liberal appeals court.
Bade was first nominated last August, but the Senate did not vote until after the mid-term elections. She was re-nominated in January, and passed by a 78-21.
Trump has made it a public priority to add judges to the Ninth Circuit. With Bade's appointment, the president is up to four.
Nine to 25
Bade had served as a magistrate judge in the District of Arizona since 2012. She joins Trump appointees Mark Bennett, Ryan Nelson, and Eric Miller on the Ninth Circuit bench.
The Republican appointees are still outnumbered nine to 25 on the appeals court, but there are four more vacancies. Nominees Daniel Bress and Patrick Bumatay are awaiting confirmation hearings; Daniel Collins and Kenneth Kiyul Lee are waiting for committee votes.
So far, the Senate has confirmed 92 of Trump's judicial nominees. That includes 53 district court judges; 37 appeals court judges; and two Supreme Court justices.
He is on pace to make more judicial appointments than recent predecessors, although Ronald Reagen set the record during his two terms with 402.
Reshaping the Ninth
Trump really wants to reshape the Ninth Circuit, which he called a "disgrace" after the appeals court blocked the president's asylum policy last year. He had issued an executive order to stop migrants who crossed into the U.S. illegally from seeking asylum. A trial judge granted a restraining order against the president's edict, and the appeals court affirmed.
"The Ninth Circuit is very unfair," the President said.
Previously, the appeals court twice ruled against his proposed travel bans.
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