Trump’s ‘Superstar’ Appellate Judges Have Voted 133 to 12 in His Favor

January 11, 2026 | Mattathias Schwartz and Emma Schartz | New York Times

This week, The New York Times analyzed every judicial ruling on President Trump’s second-term agenda, from Jan. 20 to Dec. 31 in 2025. This included more than 500 orders issued across 900 cases. And came to the conclusion that “[t]ime and again, appellate judges chosen by Mr. Trump in his first term reversed rulings made by district court judges in his second, clearing the way for his policies and gradually eroding a perception early last year that the legal system was thwarting his efforts to amass presidential power,” The New York Times reported.