# The next generation of Republican justices will be even more partisan > Trump's lower court judges openly defy the Supreme Court, signalling a future judiciary even more partisan than today's. - Title: The next generation of Republican justices will be even more… - Summary: Trump's lower court judges openly defy the Supreme Court, signalling a future judiciary even more partisan than today's. Lower court Republican judges are… - Keywords: supreme court, federal judiciary, republican judges, trump administration, judicial partisanship, missouri gerrymander, senate filibuster, judicial confirmations, news, culture, next, generation - Source: Vox — https://vox.com/politics/504529/supreme-court-missouri-gerrymander-lower-courts-are-crazy - Author: Ian Millhiser - Published: 2026-09-29T15:30:00+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: supreme court, federal judiciary, republican judges, trump administration, judicial partisanship, missouri gerrymander, senate filibuster, judicial confirmations, news, culture ## Supreme Court blocks Missouri gerrymander three times The Supreme Court ruled three times in less than three weeks that Missouri cannot use a newly drawn Republican gerrymander in the two thousand twenty-six congressional election. ## Lower court judges defy the Supreme Court After each Supreme Court ruling, Republican judges in lower courts tried to reinstate the maps the Court had already rejected, forcing the justices to rule again. ## This defiance signals a troubling future The lower courts are filled with ambitious Republican judges whose views are too extreme or partisan for the current Supreme Court, but who could become future justices. ## The Fifth Circuit as MAGA legal laboratory The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit functions as a think tank for extreme legal theories, pulling abortion medication from the market and ordering lawfully cast ballots thrown away. ## Future Trump nominees will be far more extreme If Republicans hold the Senate after the two thousand twenty-six midterms, Trump can nominate Supreme Court justices who make Justice Samuel Alito look moderate by comparison. ## The filibuster changed everything in two thousand thirteen The Senate eliminated the judicial filibuster in November two thousand thirteen, allowing judges to be confirmed by simple majority instead of needing sixty votes. ## Judges no longer need cross-party support Before two thousand thirteen, judges with Supreme Court ambitions avoided making controversial views public to keep support from opposition senators. That incentive disappeared. ## Gorsuch's anti-regulatory opinions won him a seat Justice Neil Gorsuch secured his Supreme Court nomination by writing opinions attacking federal agency power. His confirmation showed lower court judges what the Trump White House rewarded. > proved decisive in clinching ## Kavanaugh changed tactics after Gorsuch's success Before Gorsuch's confirmation, Kavanaugh dodged the Obamacare case. Months after Gorsuch became a justice, Kavanaugh gave a speech signalling he would overturn Roe v. Wade. ## Judges now audition for promotion through partisanship The confirmation process now favors judges who demonstrate they are dependable partisan votes. Ambitious Republican judges openly prove their loyalty to Trump and MAGA. ## Democrats face the same incentives No Democrat can get confirmed to the Supreme Court unless their party controls the Senate, so Democratic judges also have no reason to appeal to Republicans. ## Lawrence VanDyke mocks colleagues in opinions Ninth Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, reportedly on Trump's short list, writes opinions in a MAGA podcast tone. He began one about transgender women with the line this is a case about swinging dicks. > this is a case about swinging dicks ## Andrew Oldham attacks voting rights and agencies Fifth Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham writes extreme opinions undercutting the First Amendment, attacking voting by mail, and defending vaping companies. Even Supreme Court Republicans reject his work. ## James Ho is the edgelord of the federal judiciary Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho is known for trolly opinions attacking liberal positions. He is also discussed as a potential Supreme Court candidate if Trump gets another vacancy. ## Even older judges now defy the Supreme Court Judge James Loken, an eighty-six-year-old George H.W. Bush nominee with no promotion prospects, joined younger colleagues in trying to reinstate the Missouri gerrymander after the Supreme Court rejected it twice. ## Partisan judges punish principled ones Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, wrote an excellent opinion rejecting Trump's attempt to overturn the two thousand twenty election. That opinion almost certainly ended his Supreme Court prospects. ## Restoring the filibuster will not fix this The two parties have polarized so completely on judges' proper role that restoring the filibuster would mean no one gets confirmed to the Supreme Court, not moderation. ## Only elections can stop the partisan judiciary The only way to keep extreme judges off the Supreme Court is to elect senators and presidents who do not want them there. The courts' future is decided every two years. ## Key takeaway Lower court Republican judges are openly auditioning for Supreme Court seats by defying the Court itself and advancing partisan agendas, suggesting future justices will be far more extreme than current conservatives.