New Report Shows Disturbing Trends in Trump’s Reshaping of the Judiciary
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 3, 2026 – The first year of the second Trump administration has served as a dire warning for the state of the federal courts. A new report from Alliance for Justice, Loyalty Litmus: The First Year of Trump 2.0’s Federal Courts, illustrates how Trump’s judicial nominees have been just as lacking in diversity as those from his first term, but their extremism has greatly increased. As the title suggests, loyalty to Trump has seemingly become a prerequisite for his would-be judges.
In 2025, Trump nominated a total of 34 individuals to the federal circuit and district courts, 26 of whom were confirmed. This is 35 fewer nominations than Trump made during the first year of his first administration, though that year also included the extensive confirmation process for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Of the 34 nominees this year:
- 26 were male (76%)
- 31 were white (91%)
- 0 were women of color (0%)
- 0 added professional diversity to the bench (0%)
Troublingly, nominees have consistently proven their loyalty to Trump by refusing to answer certain questions during hearings. For example, when asked if President Biden won the 2020 election, many have repeated the answer that Biden was “certified the winner,” toeing the line of Trump’s false claims that the actual result was in doubt.
Others have direct connections to Trump, such as Emil Bove, who was his personal attorney; Jennifer Mascott, who defended his king-like claims of immunity; and Eric Tung, who supported the extreme “independent state legislature theory” that could be weaponized to suppress voting rights.
The new report profiles these troubling nominees — now lifetime judges — and what can be done to protect our judiciary from Trump’s encroachments.
Alliance for Justice President Rachel Rossi issued the following statement:
“In his second term, President Trump has established in no uncertain terms that he is not to be trusted with our courts. We are seeing the most extreme MAGA zealots advanced to lifetime judgeships, in which they will loyally carry out Trump’s unconstitutional agenda now and long after he is no longer in office. We simply cannot entrust our democracy to those who openly defy it. AFJ’s report provides a comprehensive look at Trump’s latest impact on the courts and the essential steps for protecting them. With this context in mind, we must take every action necessary to delay and block nominees with such egregious records. AFJ’s continued mission to protect our courts by providing transparency into these nominees will ensure we can do just that.”
Click here to read Loyalty Litmus: The First Year of Trump 2.0’s Federal Courts.