Where are the federal judges, prosecutors?
One of the many spoils that go to the victors in presidential races is the privilege of nominating and appointing federal judges and prosecutors.
There are three federal judicial districts in North Carolina — Eastern, Middle and Western. Right now, only ONE – the Western – has a Trump appointee running the show. The Eastern and Middle districts are being run by “Acting” US attorneys. In other words, career staffers who worked in the prosecutorial offices under previous presidents — even some from the other party.
South Carolina has one federal judicial district. The Palmetto State has a Trump appointee in place in their US attorney’s office.
Tennessee has a Middle, Eastern, and Western district like North Carolina does. The Middle District has an Acting US attorney.
The western district of Tennessee has an Interim US attorney. The eastern district has a Trump-flavored US attorney in place.
Virginia has full-blown US attorneys in place for its Eastern AND Western districts.
Here we are — six months into Trump 2.0 — and the US Senate has just gotten around to approving the nomination of the first Trump judicial nominee of his second term. Usually, The White House identifies nominees for jobs like US attorney or judge based on recommendations from US senators — or the most senior Member of Congress — from that particular state and the president’s party.
We’ve seen the havoc federal judges can create for our nation and our way-of-life. You’d think there’d be some urgency to rush some new, sane people into the federal judiciary branch.
Thom Tillis has been sitting on the Senate Judiciary Committee approving all kinds of Obama and Biden nominees. Tillis has not been much of a team player in Trump 2.0. Some could argue the same for Trump 1.0.
Let’s not forget that Thom allowed socialist Bernie Sanders to outflank him on the right.
Since his retirement announcement, Thommy Boy has been sounding a lot like Mitch McConnell — pouting like a baby and tinkling in the punchbowl every chance he can get. Is Tillis willfully sabotaging the effort to bring some Trump / MAGA flavor to federal courthouses in North Carolina and across the country?
Why is Ted Budd appearing to condone it? If all we’re going to get out of Thom is one big temper tantrum for the next eighteen months, perhaps our guy Ted needs to step up and take the reins. After all, once Thom finally bails, Ted Budd will be our senior US senator.