Speaking to an audience at a conservative conference Thursday, Don McGahn, the White House counsel and official overseeing Donald Trump's judicial nominations, laid out the qualifications the president seeks in his picks.

McGahn, who spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, said the president looks for nominees who've demonstrated “some sort of courage,” a dedication to the rule of law and a critical eye toward regulations. McGahn added that Trump is “very engaged” in the judicial selection process.

“The president really looks for folks who, not surprisingly, have demonstrated the ability to stand strong, as he has his whole life,” McGahn said. “He looks for folks he can relate to that way.”

Since Trump took office, his administration has secured major victories in the judicial nominations arena, including the confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch last year, in addition to 12 circuit court judges, a record for the first year of a presidency.  

However, questions remain about the administration's vetting process for lower court nominees. Three nominees did not move forward last year, including Matthew Petersen, a member of the Federal Election Commission who could not answer basic legal questions in his Senate hearing. The other two, Brett Talley and Jeff Mateer, made controversial statements in blogs and speeches. 

McGahn said Thursday that the administration first and foremost looks for nominees with “excellent credentials,” and who, like Gorsuch, are critical of granting too much deference to executive branch agencies' statutory interpretations.

McGahn said the administration does not have a “litmus test” for nominees' beliefs, but asks for their views on administrative law. Trump has made deregulation a key piece of his agenda, and McGahn said the nomination of Gorsuch was “part of a larger plan.”

“There is a coherent plan here where, actually, the judicial selection and the deregulation effort are really the flip side of the same coin,” McGahn said.