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Senate Republicans lined up votes on 19 of President Trump’s judicial nominees for next week, moving to arrange one final burst of activity before leaving town for summer vacation. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the move Thursday, arranging votes to head off filibusters and then to confirm each of the picks. The number is possible because he led Republicans in triggering the nuclear option and changing chamber rules earlier this year, cutting the maximum debate time allowed on each district judge from 30 hours to just two hours.

The U.S. Senate confirmed two Florida judges to lifetime positions on Wednesday, the latest effort by President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans to fill vacancies and reshape the federal courts. Rodney Smith and Thomas Barber were confirmed by the full Senate after the judiciary committee recommended them with support from Republicans and some Democrats. Both of their nominations were supported by Sen. Marco Rubio and former Sen. Bill Nelson, and they were renominated by Trump early this year. Smith was confirmed by a 78-18 margin while Barber was confirmed by a 77-19 margin. Smith, who has worked as a lawyer...

Senate Republicans are poised to advance a resolution next week to drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to confirm hundreds of President Trump's nominees as Republicans mull going "nuclear" to muscle through the change. Under the resolution introduced by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the chairman of the Rules Committee, most nominees would only be subjected to up to two hours of debate after they clear an initial hurdle. Currently, nominees are subjected to up to 30 hours of additional debate after proving they have the simple majority needed to defeat a filibuster and be...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday he plans to confirm three of President Trump’s judicial nominees by the end of the week, continuing to fulfill the president’s promise to remake the federal bench with conservative jurists. If all three of his picks are cleared this week, it will bring the total number of Mr. Trump’s district court picks to 17 that have been confirmed since the president took office. Claria Horn Boom, who was nominated more than 300 days ago...

Time for more winning As I’ve argued many times before, the Supreme Court was the real win last November. If President Trump were to be impeached tomorrow (he won’t be, but if he were) the appointment of Neil Gorsuch would make it all worthwhile. Factor in the rumors that he’ll get another bite at the SCOTUS apple this summer, and it’s conceivable that a two-term Trump administration could see a total of four such opportunities. That’s great news, because the judiciary is complete mess and Trump’s list of judges is highly regarded among conservatives.

    Sunday, May 30, 2004 Arrested Judge To Take Leave By Lloyd JojolaJournal Staff Writer    District Court Judge W. John Brennan late Saturday announced that he would take an immediate leave of absence after being arrested earlier in the day on drug charges.    Brennan was arrested early Saturday morning and charged with possession of a controlled substance and tampering with evidence after police pulled him over near a sobriety checkpoint in Northeast Albuquerque.    Police said Brennan was "obviously intoxicated" when his vehicle was stopped. Albuquerque police also said they found him and a passenger with cocaine.    Brennan, 57, a...