Trump expected to announce judicial nominees today

— -- After the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court, President Trump is expected to announce nominees to the federal bench on Monday, a White House official confirmed, in a move to fill nearly 130 federal court vacancies.

The list of nominees, which was first reported by The New York Times, includes several names on Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court picks — a list widely praised by conservatives.

David Stras, an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and Joan Larsen, a member of the Michigan Supreme Court, will be nominated for positions on the 8th and 6th federal appeals court circuits, respectively.

Both clerked for conservative members of the Supreme Court and were on the Trump campaign’s Supreme Court shortlist.

Trump will announce several other nominees to federal appeals courts, along with a handful of federal district court nominees.

The expected nominees drew praise from the right.

“When it comes to fulfilling his campaign promise to appoint strong, principled judges, Trump is knocking it out of the park,” Carrie Severino, the chief counsel of the Judicial Crisis Network, said in response to the initial report.

Along with judicial vacancies, Trump has yet to fill hundreds of political appointments across the federal government.

According to the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that focuses on civil service, 465 positions requiring Senate confirmation remain unfilled.

The Senate has confirmed just 26 of Trump’s nominees.