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The end of Trump’s most potent legacy

Democrats’ romp wiped away the president’s chance at muscling through many more judicial nominees.

By Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney

Published: 11/04/2026 11:07 AM PST

Democrats’ sweeping victories Tuesday night will soon bring to a halt one of President Donald Trump’s most important achievements: remaking the federal judiciary.

Democrats may even have some hope of chipping away at the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority, depending on the number of Senate seats they ultimately pick up and whether a vacancy arises.

Trump has already, over the course of his two terms, appointed nearly 300 judges who, collectively, will pull the federal bench to the right for a generation. His second-term judges, in particular, have often proven to be outliers even among the conservative judiciary.

But the lame-duck president will be able to confirm few, if any, new judges once Democrats formally take over the Senate in January.

“Trump will not be able to appoint any justices or judges during his last two years in office (absent one-sided deal in favor of Dems),” veteran conservative courtwatcher Ed Whelan wrote on X Wednesday.

Continue/Read Original Article: The end of Trump’s most potent legacy – POLITICO