We have seen a steady trickle of stories about unnamed Republican-appointed Circuit Judges who are declining to take senior status because of the Emil Bove nomination. I remain skeptical of this account, and think it is more of a narrative than reality. If anything, some of these judges would not give Trump the seat, regardless of who the replacement is. In a recent National Review post, Mike Fragoso pointed out the obvious: "Nearly all the eligible, Republican appellate judges today were eligible in 2020 and still didn't go anywhere—back when Emil Bove was but a glimmer in President Trump's eye."
Let's count them up.
Here is a list of all Republican-Appointed Circuit judges who were eligible for senior status by November 2020--at that time, Trump was in the White House, and the Republicans controlled the Senate: Newman (CAFC), Wilkinson (CA4), Smith (CA5), Easterbrook (CA7), Jones, (CA5), Lourie (CAFC), Loken (CA8) Niemeyer (CA4), Henderson (CADC), Hartz (CA10), M. Smith (CA9), Prost (CAFC), Callahan (CA9), Benton (CA8), Southwick (CA5), Shepherd (CA8), Griffin (CA6), Richman (CA5), Ikuta (CA9), and Agee (CA4).
