GOP holdouts complicate Trump’s final chances to reshape US courts
Arkansas Republicans forced President Donald Trump to abandon an appeals court nominee Tuesday. Now Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is prepared to use his vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee to keep other nominees from advancing unless their home-state Republicans are on board. Tillis, who has made keeping his check on Trump a feature of his […]
Arkansas Republicans forced President Donald Trump to abandon an appeals court nominee Tuesday. Now Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is prepared to use his vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee to keep other nominees from advancing unless their home-state Republicans are on board.
Tillis, who has made keeping his check on Trump a feature of his final months in Congress, told the Washington Examiner Tuesday night that he wants to confirm as many judges as possible, but he made clear that he will adamantly enforce home-state Republicans’ preferences.
” data-large-file=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/gop-holdouts-complicate-trumps-final-chances-to-reshape-us-courts.webp” src=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/gop-holdouts-complicate-trumps-final-chances-to-reshape-us-courts.webp” alt=”Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).” class=”wp-image-4776219″ srcset=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/gop-holdouts-complicate-trumps-final-chances-to-reshape-us-courts.webp 1024w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/gop-holdouts-complicate-trumps-final-chances-to-reshape-us-courts.webp?resize=300,200 300w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/gop-holdouts-complicate-trumps-final-chances-to-reshape-us-courts.webp?resize=768,512 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) arrives for a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
Asked whether nominees could advance over those senators’ objections, Tillis replied, “No way, because I’ve got the deciding vote in [the judiciary committee].” Republicans hold a 12-10 majority on the committee, so if Democrats are united in opposition, a single Republican defection can block a nominee.
His comments preceded a dramatic reversal by the Trump administration Tuesday evening, when the president withdrew U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky’s nomination to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and sent the Senate the name of Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Cody Hiland instead.
Sens. John Boozman (R-AR) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) favored Hiland, whose confirmation would give Trump appointees a majority of active judges on a federal appeals court for the first time, though it would be a bittersweet victory for his most staunch allies steering his judicial nominations, who saw Rudofsky as a more Trump-aligned and worthy pick over the lawmakers’ preference.
Following Republicans’ midterm losses last week, the congressional lame duck period could be Trump’s last chance to confirm judges before Democrats take the Senate in January 2027 for what is likely to be a long time. If Democrats hold the Senate in 2028 or win the White House, Republicans could have to wait until after the 2032 election to control both again.
“We do need to confirm every judge we can,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
That puts Zachary West’s nomination to the Eastern District of Oklahoma in a bit of limbo, despite it being in a state where all 77 counties voted for Trump in 2024. Outgoing interim Sen. Alan Armstrong (R-OK) reversed his support for West after returning a blue slip signaling his approval. The committee put off a vote on his nomination on Tuesday. West needs all 12 Republican votes on the committee to advance, and Tillis is siding with Armstrong.
“In my decade doing this, I’ve never seen a senator return a blue slip and then work behind the scenes to take out a nom,” said Mike Fragoso, former chief of staff to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). “I’m not surprised that it’s a temporary senator doing it.”
Sen.-elect Kevin Hern (R-OK) is due to replace Armstrong on Nov. 30, though Hern’s position on West remains unclear, and his office did not respond to requests for comment. Outgoing Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan called West “a superb pick” in a post on X and said he hoped the impasse would end when Hern takes office.
“It seems like several Senators are getting lame duck zoomies and making bad decisions about judges,” Wessan said.
Tillis’s stance also raises the stakes of outgoing Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) decision on T. Elliot Gaiser, Trump’s pick to be a judge for the Northern District of Texas. Gaiser, who leads the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, bypassed the bipartisan panel Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) use to vet Texas nominees.
Cornyn backed James Sullivan for a judgeship in the Western District of Texas. “Sullivan I’m good with,” Cornyn told the WashingtonExaminer, adding that he was “still waiting on the other one,” referring to Gaiser.
Earlier this week, Trump wrote a post on Truth Social calling on senators to confirm 25 judges he’d nominated. The remaining lifetime picks for appeals courts include four: Hiland, Gregory Todd Butler, Daniel Domenico, and Anna St. John. Alongside West, Sullivan, and Gaiser, the district court picks are Samuel Adkisson, Philip Aubart, Philip Axt, Daniel Ballou, Richard Bennett, Courtney Coker, Gregory Cook, Joseph Falvey, Eric Hamilton, Bradford Kelley, Robert Long Jr., Peter Mansfield, Brian Meyers, Jesus Osete, Trevor Pemberton, and Kyle Reardon.
Trump’s first term produced 234 confirmations, including three Supreme Court justices and 54 appeals court judges. Former President Joe Biden secured 235 confirmations, with fewer appeals court appointments. Trump inherited fewer vacancies this time and has filled seats at a slower pace.
“We need to get as many done before the end of the year as we can,” Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) told the WashingtonExaminer. The next scheduled nominations hearing for the committee is set for next Wednesday.
