The draft for the federal judiciary begins on Inauguration Day. After taking the oath of office, President Trump will get to work rounding out the judicial roster by filling more than a hundred vacancies on benches around the country.

But don’t think that Republican obstruction created that opportunity or believe that Mitch McConnell played a dirty trick on Obama’s nominees. For most of his eight years, the outgoing executive enjoyed a free hand to fundamentally reshape the judicial branch in his image.