Before they put on their robes, dozens of federal judges appointed during the Trump and Obama administrations made significant campaign contributions to Senate Judiciary Committee members and their home-state senators — the very people who could make or break their nominations.
And three Republican senators — Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — got more money than the rest of the Judiciary Committee combined. Virtually all of those contributions came from judicial nominees they ultimately backed.
Home-state senators who haven’t served on the panel also wield considerable influence on who becomes a federal judge. They’ve received significant contributions from donors who ended up on the bench. A Democrat — Bob Casey of Pennsylvania — tops that list. Continue reading.