Report: Trump joked that he couldn't appoint friends to judgeships because they're too old

President Trump reportedly joked at a meeting of conservative activists last month that he has had to turn down friends who have asked for federal judgeships because they were too old.

“I had to tell them no,” Trump said at the meeting, according to a Washington Post report. He then paused before noting that, in fact, he had "someone else tell them no."

The joke, however, is a sign of Trump's ongoing efforts to reshape the federal judiciary for years to come by installing young, conservative judges in courts across the country.

Since taking office, Trump has nominated 59 people for federal judgeships, and, so far, 19 have been confirmed by the Senate.

Among the president's criteria for selecting judicial nominees, according to the Post, is that they are young – a characteristic that would allow them to serve on courts for decades, allowing them to wield long-term influence on American jurisprudence.

Those nominees must also be conservative and strict constitutionalists, according to the Post.

But the White House has faced questions in recent days about its vetting process for judicial nominees, after it pulled the plug on three of them last week.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/365731-report-trump-joked-that-he-could-not-appoint-friends-to-judgeships