meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
We the People

President Trump and the Federal Judiciary

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.61.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 April 2018

⏱️ 54 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When President Donald Trump took office last year, there were over 100 federal court vacancies, roughly twice as many as when President Barack Obama faced the same situation in 2009. Since then, President Trump has been nominating judges and having nominees confirmed at “record speed,” leading many senators from both sides of the aisle—from Senator Ted Cruz to Senator Chris Coons—to  assert that the most long-lasting and significant legacy to the Trump administration “will be the men and women appointed and confirmed to the federal bench.”  This topic and others were part of the Federal Bar Association’s annual mid-year meeting in Washington, D.C. John Malcolm is Vice President of the Institute for Constitutional Government and Director of the Meese Center for Legal & Judicial Studies and Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where he oversees the Heritage Foundation’s work to increase understanding of the Constitution and the rule of law. Elizabeth Wydra  is President of the Constitutional Accountability Center. From 2008-2016, she served as the CAC’s Chief Counsel, representing the Center as well as constitutional scholars and historians, state and local government organizations, and groups such as the League of Women Voters and the AARP. Jeffrey Rosen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Constitution Center, the only institution in America chartered by Congress “to disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.” He is also a professor at The George Washington University Law School, and a contributing editor for The Atlantic.  Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at podcast@constitutioncenter.org The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I'm Lana Ulrich, in-house counsel for the National Constitution Center, and welcome

0:11.1

to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.

0:15.0

In this episode, our president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderated a debate between John Malcolm,

0:21.0

Vice President at the Heritage Foundation,

0:23.6

and Elizabeth Weydra,

0:24.7

president of the Constitutional Accountability Center

0:27.7

as part of the Federal Bar Association's

0:30.0

annual mid-year meeting.

0:31.8

Let's hear what they had to say.

0:33.0

John, Elizabeth, thank you so much for joining.

0:40.0

Great to be here. John, the, thank you so much for joining. Great to be here.

0:44.0

John, the Heritage Foundation has been credited with helping advise President Trump

0:51.0

on his judicial nomination, and you are the point person at Heritage

0:55.6

as the man who more than anyone else according to most press accounts along with your colleagues at the Federalist Society, has helped

1:04.7

to shape President Trump's judicial picks.

1:07.2

Tell us about how you made your recommendations, what your role was in helping the president and how significant the president's reliance on

1:17.2

heritage and the federal society and making his picks is for the future of

1:20.9

the federal judiciary.

1:21.9

Sure. Well I'll characterize that as Quaizi fake news.

1:26.0

First of all, you just told me it was true.

1:28.1

Well, I thought you just told me it was true. Well, I thought, so here's what happens.

1:29.2

First of all, it's a pleasure to be with you, and I'm delighted to be here with Elizabeth.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from National Constitution Center, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of National Constitution Center and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.