President Trump joked Friday that he’s doing better than all other presidents when it comes to appointing judges, with the exception of George Washington.
Washington, the nation’s first president, picked the entire Supreme Court and filled up the district courts for the states that existed at the time.
Trump said Washington is “tough” to beat when it comes to picking judges, delivering at a speech in Missouri in which he said the Senate next year would help him appoint more people.
“The nice part about having the Senate is, when you have the Senate, your judges … you know, we’ve appointed many, many judges,” he said. “We’re just about at a record clip ever. And by the time I finish we should have the all-time record.”
“Except, of course, on a percentage basis. You know who the best of all was, right? George Washington,” Trump said.
“One hundred percent. He picked 100 percent of the judges,” Trump added. “That’s the only one that I won’t be beating. Can never beat George, he’s tough.”
Trump said the press doesn’t like to talk about how Republicans kept the Senate and added two seats to the majority. Republicans will have a 53-47 edge next year and only need a simple majority to approve Trump’s judicial nominees.
[Also read: Jeff Flake is running Mitch McConnell’s judicial express off the road]
