Former DOJ prosecutor Gregg Nunziata, who as chief nominations counsel to Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee played a key strategic role in the confirmation proceedings for several federal judges, criticized President Trump’s second-term judicial nominations on Wednesday on CBS News, the network currently being reconfigured under new top editor Bari Weiss.
Note: The Senate has so far has confirmed 33 of Trump’s nominees to the federal bench including the President’s former personal attorney Emil Bove (to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit), who came under scrutiny for his work at the Justice Department last year with Todd Blanche and Pam Bondi. Bove, perhaps the most prominent example of what critics call Trump’s emphasis on loyalty over traditional judicial qualifications, was narrowly confirmed by the Senate in a 50-49 vote. There are 37 current vacancies on the nation’s trial courts.
I spoke to CBSNews about Trump’s second-term judicial nominations:
“No judge is going to be excited about the prospect of a president selecting future nominees based on any conception of loyalty to the occupant of the White House. That offends judges across the ideological…— Gregg Nunziata (@greggnunziata) March 20, 2026
Nunziata said: “No judge is going to be excited about the prospect of a president selecting future nominees based on any conception of loyalty to the occupant of the White House. That offends judges across the ideological spectrum including judges who were appointed by the president and who generally think well of the president and really don’t like that mindset or that rhetoric, and I think broadly view it as damaging to the judiciary.”
Economist and Professor Emeritus at Penn State University Jim Shortle replied to Nunziata: “But their [sic] is no shortage of wannabe be judges who would be eager to comply,” to which Nunziata replied, “Yes. The issue is more on the demand than the supply side. Currently serving judges less likely to retire.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson, responding to what she characterized as partisan criticism and Democratic obstructionism over Trump’s picks, said “President Trump is selecting highly qualified nominees, with great respect for our Constitution, who are being confirmed expeditiously and will serve on the bench for decades.”