By Julia Wickstaff | Los Angeles Times
This week, the world watched as articles of impeachment against President Trump were introduced in the U.S. Congress and met with hours of withering debate. But something else also happened in the Capitol this week that could affect California, and other western states, for decades.
This week, the U.S. Senate confirmed two more Trump nominees to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 9th Circuit is the nation’s largest appellate court, and one long regarded as a liberal bastion. (The reality of that reputation has starkly waned in recent years, but more on that below.)
Judges Lawrence VanDyke and Patrick Bumatay, who are both in their 40s, will serve lifetime appointments. Their ascent to the bench means that Trump appointees now account for more than a third of the active judges on the very same court that the president once characterized as “a big thorn in [his] side” and “a complete & total disaster.”
What is the 9th Circuit?
