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A federal appeals court Tuesday unanimously rejected a suit filed by ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to overturn a tax overhaul law approved by former President Donald Trump in 2017 that limited federal deductions on state and local taxes. The $1.5 trillion law imposed a $10,000 cap on itemized SALT deductions that taxpayers could write-off on their federal returns, which provided Trump and the then-Republican-led Congress more revenues to pay for other federal tax cuts. The SALT cap largely affects the wealthiest taxpayers in high tax Democratic states in the Northeast — New York and New Jersey, and Connecticut, as well as...

The Senate confirmed Michael Park to be a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, making him the 39th circuit court judge to be confirmed under President Trump in a process on a record pace that is steadily reshaping the bench. Judge Park joins Joseph Bianco, confirmed earlier this week, on that bench, bringing the number of Republican-appointed active judges on the chief 2nd Circuit panel to six. With two more vacancies by this summer, Mr. Trump will soon have a chance to flip control of the circuit, which currently has seven Democratic appointees. Mr. Trump...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have put President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee on the bench, and they’re now in a position to fill dozens more federal judgeships — and reshape some of the nation’s highest courts. Democrats have few ways to stop them. The Republicans’ opportunity comes with the GOP in control of Congress and the White House, about 120 vacancies in federal district and appeals courts to be filled and after years of partisan fights over judicial nominations. Frustrated by Republican obstruction in 2013, then-majority Democrats changed Senate rules so judicial nominations for those trial and appeals courts are...

On the campaign trail in 2008, Barack Obama promised to fundamentally transform the United States of America. After nearly eight years as president, he has delivered on one front by reshaping the federal judiciary. That revolution has been comprehensive, dramatic, and under the radar. When Obama entered the Oval Office, liberal judges controlled just one of the 13 circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Fifty-five successful presidential nominations later, liberal majorities now control nine of those appeals benches, or 70 percent.

WASHINGTON, April 11 (AP) - The Senate on Monday confirmed the first of President Bush's second-term judicial nominees as senators continued to argue over Democrats' blocking the White House's most prized candidates. On a 95-to-0 vote, the Senate confirmed Paul Crotty as a federal district judge for New York State. With Mr. Crotty's confirmation, Mr. Bush has put 205 trial and appellate judges on the federal court since becoming president. Democrats have blocked 10 of Mr. Bush's 52 appeals court nominations through filibuster threats, while allowing Republicans to confirm 34 others. They have said they plan to keep blocking those...