Trump expected to name judicial nominees today

Following the successful confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, President Trump is expected to name new nominees to the federal bench Monday a White House official confirmed, in a move to fill nearly 130 federal court vacancies.

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The list of nominees, which was first reported by The New York Times, includes several candidates listed on Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court picks – a list widely praised by conservatives.

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David Stras, an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and Joan Larsen, a member of the Michigan Supreme Court, will be nominated for positions on the Eight and Sixths Circuits of the federal appeals court.

Both clerked for conservative members of the Supreme Court, and were listed on the Trump campaign's Supreme Court shortlist.

Trump will also name several additional nominees to the federal appeals court, along with a handful of federal district court nominees.

The expected nominees drew praise from the right.

“When it comes to fulfilling his campaign promise to appoint strong, principled judges, Trump is knocking it out of the park,” Carrie Severino, the chief counsel of the Judicial Crisis Network, said in response to the initial report.

Along with judicial vacancies, Trump has yet to fill hundreds of political appointee positions across the federal government.

According to the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that focuses on civil service, 465 positions requiring Senate confirmation remain unfilled.

The Senate has confirmed just 26 of Trump’s nominees.