With Lagoa Confirmation, Trump Flips 11th Circuit to GOP Majority
The Second, Third and Eleventh circuits have all transitioned to a majority of Republican-appointed judges under Trump.
November 20, 2019 at 12:07 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal
The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm a second judge in as many days to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, flipping the court's composition to a majority of Republican-appointees.
The Senate voted 80-15 to confirm Florida state Supreme Court Justice Barbara Lagoa to the federal bench. Her vote comes one day after the Senate voted 64-31 to confirm fellow state Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Luck to the same court.
This is the second circuit in as many weeks to transition to a majority of Republican judges, after the Second Circuit shifted to the right with last week's confirmation of Steven Menashi.
The Eleventh Circuit is also the third appeals court to transition to a majority of GOP-appointed judges during Trump's presidency. Trump has now appointed five of the 12 active judges on the court.
The Third Circuit also moved to the right with the confirmation of Paul Matey in March. The GOP ranks on that bench deepened with the July confirmation of Peter Phipps to the same panel.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Lagoa earlier this month on a bipartisan basis, with only a handful of Democrats opposing her nomination. She also earned overwhelming support to move forward with her nomination Tuesday, with the Senate voting 80-15 to invoke cloture.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Lagao to the state Supreme Court earlier this year, making her the first Hispanic woman to sit on that court. Her ascension to the federal bench also makes her a rare Hispanic woman among Trump's judicial appointments, who are largely white and male.
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Lagoa, during her nomination hearing last month, spoke about how her parents seeking refuge in the United States after fleeing Cuba has colored her approach to the judiciary.
"Unlike the country my parents fled, we are a nation of laws, not of men," Lagoa testified at the time.
She is also the daughter-in-law of U.S. District Senior Judge Paul Huck of the Southern District of Florida.
Eleventh Circuit Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat, 89, who was appointed by President Gerald Ford, announced earlier this year that he intended to take senior status. Judge Stanley Marcus, tapped by President Bill Clinton for the circuit seat, said a month later he would also take senior status, clearing the way for Trump to nominate Luck and Lagoa.
The president's rate of appointing judges to appeals courts has far outpaced recent presidents. As of Nov. 14, the Senate has confirmed 53 of Trump's nominees for those courts, with President George W. Bush being the closest behind with 45 confirmations at this point of his first term, according to the Heritage Foundation.
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