President-elect Donald Trump will now be able to name four judges to an important U.S. trial court in Washington that hears lawsuits against the federal government.
The fourth vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia opened up when Judge Richard Leon became a senior judge on Dec. 31, BuzzFeed News reports.
Leon, 68, was confirmed to the court in 2002 — after being nominated by President George W. Bush — and he remains the only GOP-nominated judge on that bench.
He is a former federal prosecutor who ruled in 2013 that the National Security Agency's metadata collection efforts were "most likely unconstitutional" after former contractor Edward Snowden leaked stolen documents about the program.
With his new senior status, Leon has the option of a smaller docket for hearing cases, according to BuzzFeed.
The court has 15 active judgeships — and Trump will be able to fill more than a quarter of them once he takes office later this month.
Nine of the judges were nominated by President Barack Obama, though the Senate did not act on them. They were sent back to the White House this week, according to the report.
Overall, Trump will be able to fill more than 100 federal court vacancies. The D.C. court hears many cases concerning federal government policies and operations.
The court also hears many lawsuits filed under the Freedom of Information Act, including dozens of actions regarding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.
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