JOSH BLACKMAN: The Coming Judicial Nomination Wars On The Right. “Perhaps during a prior time, Whelan’s post would have been enough to stop the nomination. But here, Whelan’s post seems not to have had any effect on Trump’s decision making. Indeed, senior officials in DOJ rejected Whelan’s argument.”

The behavior of the judiciary in the first few months of Trump’s second term hasn’t boosted the position of the GOP legal establishment.