President Donald Trump may soon be able to appoint a judge to Washington's second-most powerful court with a report that Judge Janice Rogers Brown is expected to retire from the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported Judge Brown was considering retirement, citing an unnamed source. Judge Brown, 68, made no official comment to the newspaper.
Judge Brown was appointed in 2005 by former President George W. Bush. Federal judges often time their retirements during the presidency of the same party that appointed them, thereby offering some continuity in political philosophy.
Judge Brown has been one of the court's most conservative members, according to the Journal. The D.C. Circuit Court hears matters including federal regulatory authority, powers of the executive and legislative branches, and special cases, such as appeals from Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Three current Supreme Court justices served on the D.C. Circuit as well as the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The choice of former President Barack Obama for the Supreme Court vacancy following Scalia's death, Merrick Garland, is the D.C. Circuit's chief judge.
After becoming president, Trump opted to nominate Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat, and he was confirmed in April.
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