Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took a swipe at President Trump’s judicial picks Wednesday, saying recent nominees to the federal bench have been selected based solely on age and ideology.
“I do think, though, when you’re making decisions as momentous as picking judges for the federal bench, the person you consider should have relevant experience and should be judged qualified to hold the positions,” Clinton said during an event at Georgetown Law School with former President Bill Clinton and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “Obviously, that wasn’t a worry with Justice Ginsburg, but we’ve recently seen people largely chosen on the basis of age, and therefore longevity, and political ideology being pushed through despite having no relevant experience.”
While Clinton didn’t mention Trump by name, many of his judicial nominees are in their 40s and 50s, ensuring they will serve for decades to come. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, for example, is 54 years old, and Justice Neil Gorsuch is the youngest member of the Supreme Court at 52. Trump tapped both Kavanaugh and Gorsuch for the Supreme Court, though both spent years serving on the federal courts of appeals.
The Senate earlier this year confirmed Allison Jones Rushing to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, making her the youngest federal judge at 37.
Clinton said that in the past, people “took seriously the selection of judges” and wanted to ensure judicial nominees had the qualifications to serve on the federal bench.
“That obviously was never an issue with people that Bill picked, but it is an issue now, and it’s something that lawyers and academics should be saying a lot more about than I think is being said,” Clinton said.
Trump has seen tremendous success with nominating judicial picks, nearly all of which have been confirmed by the Senate. He has made a total of 157 appointments to the federal bench.
