COURTS/DEMS/GOP/MITCH MCCONNELL/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s stream of judges is about to become a torrent. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his GOP caucus have long prioritized confirming conservative judges to lifetime appointments. But they’re about to accelerate their ability to unilaterally approve many nominees in dramatic fashion. The Senate is on track to confirm the 34th Circuit Court judge of Trump’s presidency in the next week and the GOP has three more ready for floor action; that would give Trump roughly 20 percent of the Circuit Court seats in the country after just two years in office. At this rate, McConnell and Trump could leave few, if any, vacancies there for a potential Democratic president in 2021. Even more alarming for Democrats, the GOP is also preparing to pull the trigger on the ‘nuclear option’ and change Senate rules once again with a simple majority to allow much quicker confirmation of lower court judges in the coming months.”
–Burgess Everett and Marianna Levine, “McConnell preps new nuclear option to speed Trump judges,” Politico, March 6, 2019 7:45 am