A Brief History of Judicial Appointments from the Last 50 Years through the Trump Administration
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS FROM
THE LAST 50 YEARS THROUGH THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION
DONALD F. MCGAHN 11*
LECTURE'
Thank you so much for that kind introduction. I really appreciate
the opportunity to be here today. I am going to speak generally
about the judicial selection process. It is an honor to be here at
William & Mary. It was the first law school in the country. I drove
in this morning, walked in, and came across your large statue of
John Marshall, the author of Marbury v. Madison.3 He was the
great Chief Justice, the one that all nominees tend to invoke as a
role model.4 There was a rumor that Justice Ginsburg met Chief
Justice Marshall, but I don't think that is true. [Laughter]
I am going to talk about the confirmation process generally. There
is no better place to talk about it than here. Let me begin with some
numbers and statistics, before I turn to the main thrust of my talk,
to give some context as to what recent Presidents have done with
respect to judicial appointments. President Trump has appointed
two Supreme Court Justices, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
* Partner, Jones Day (Washington, D.C.). From 2017-2018, Mr. McGahn served as
Counsel to the President, where he supervised the nominations of over 150 Article III judges,
including the Senate's confirmation of two U.S. Supreme Court Justices.
1. EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the transcript of a lecture Mr. McGahn delivered at William
& Mary Law School on November 19, 2018.
2. Symposium, The Restyled Federal Rules of Evidence, 53 Wm. & MARY L. REV. 1435,
1437 (2012).
3. 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137, 153 (1803).
4. See, e.g., Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr. to be Chief
Justice of the United States: Before the S. Comm. on the Judiciary, 109th Cong. 342 (2005)
(response of John G. Roberts, Jr., to questioning by Senator Mike DeWine).
5. Press Release, The White House, President Donald J. Trump Congratulates Judge
Neil M. Gorsuch on his Historic Confirmation (Apr. 7, 2017), https://www.whitehouse.gov/
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A Brief History of Judicial Appointments from the Last 50 Years through the Trump Administration
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