Supreme court justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh attend the State of the Union address at the Capitol in Washington DC on 5 February 2019.
Credit Doug Mills/AFP/Getty
Many Americans watching the turmoil in US institutions and political norms are yearning for the day when Donald Trump is no longer president. But whether he leaves after 2020 or 2024, Trump has built a legacy in one vital area that can be expected to stand for decades, long after his Twitter feed has fallen silent, analysts across the political spectrum agree.
That legacy comprises the 89 judges, and rapidly counting, that Trump has nominated, and Senate Republicans have confirmed, to serve at all levels of the federal court system. They are taking up posts from the district courts (53 Trump nominees confirmed out of 677 total) to the appellate courts (34 out of 179) to the US supreme court (two out of nine). Put together they form a kind of conservative judicial revolution that could impact all aspects of American life.
In the past […]
Is it conceivable that people could change the constitution, so as to not allow these appointments to be for life?
Re removal of Federal judges – https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/impeachment-and-removal-judges-explainer
Mar 23, 2018 – How does the impeachment process work? … With respect to federal judges, under Article I of the United States … The House can impeach a judge with a simple majority vote. However, a judge may only be removed from office following a trial and a vote to convict by a two-thirds majority of the Senate. If the Dems can take the Senate and I believe they can, the way will be made easier.
House can vote to remove Federal judge but then the judge will be tried by the Senate where a majority vote must be achieved.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-07/emboldened-democratic-ags-gird-for-more-trump-resistance. In 2018, the balance of power swung to the Democrats with Attorney Generals, which means there will be more confrontation against Trump policies in the courts and will serve as an effective check on the Federal government.