Prez Trump finally announces full slate of (unlikely to be confirmed?) new nominees for the US Sentencing Commission

As many readers may know, the US Sentencing Commission has lacked a full slate of Commissioners for the entirety of Trump Administration.  With only two (of seven) Commissioners in place since the start of 2019, the USSC has lacked a quorum and thus cannot complete any formal work (including a lot of work that should and needs to be done in response the the FIRST STEP Act).  Part of the problem, as I have covered in this space, was that at least one of the four nominees that Prez Trump put forward back in March 2018 was of great concerns to a great many.

Against this backdrop, I was intrigued to see two months ago this NPR report (which was blogged here) about a new slate of potential nominees, more than a few of which were considered controversial for their perceived punitiveness.  At that time, I speculated that I was unsure if even an uncontroversial slate of USSC nominees could get confirmed by the US Senate in the run up to the November election (or in the lame-duck period thereafter).   Not having heard anything on this front for two more months, I was unsure if the Trump Administration was even going to try to fill these spots in 2020. 

But yesterday brought this White House announcement, titled "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts."

Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration:

Judge K. Michael Moore, of Florida, as Chairman of the United States Sentencing Commission.

Judge Michael Moore serves as the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, a post which he has held since 2014.   Judge Moore was appointed to the Southern District of Florida by President George H. W. Bush in 1992.  Before his appointment to the Federal bench, Judge Moore served as the Director of the United States Marshals Service and as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.  Judge Moore also spent over a decade of service as an Assistant United States Attorney.

Judge Claria Horn Boom, of Kentucky, as a Commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission. 

Judge Claria Horn Boom serves as a United States District Judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky.  Judge Boom was appointed to the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky in 2019 by President Donald  J. Trump.  Before her appointment to the Federal bench, Judge Boom served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky and was in private practice in Lexington, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia.

Judge Henry E. Hudson, of Virginia, as a Commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission. 

Judge Henry Hudson serves as a Senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Judge Hudson was appointed to the United States District Court bench in 2002 by President George W. Bush.  Before his appointment to the Federal bench, Judge Hudson served as a Virginia Circuit Judge for Fairfax County, Director of the United States Marshals Service, as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and as the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County, Virginia.

John G. Malcolm, of the District of Columbia, as a Commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission. 

John Malcolm is Vice President for the Institute for Constitutional Government and the Director of the Meese Center for Legal & Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation.  Mr. Malcolm also serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation.  Mr. Malcolm previously served as the General Counsel at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, and as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo, of Pennsylvania, as a Commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission. 

Judge Phil Restrepo serves as a Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  Judge Restrepo was appointed to the Third Circuit in 2016 by President Barack Obama.  Prior to his elevation to the Third Circuit, Judge Restrepo served as a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a post to which he was also nominated by President Obama.  Prior to his service on the United States District Court, Judge Restrepo served for seven years as a United States Magistrate Judge, practiced privately, and served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Though I am always pleased to see the US Sentencing Commission getting some needed attention, I find this announcement puzzling and troublesome for various reasons.  For the most elemental of starters, the US Sentencing Commission is a judicial branch agency and not part of an executive administration.  Thus, I find it puzzling that this announcement speaks of Prez Trump's USSC nominations as involving "key positions in his Administration."  This is a small point, but I think a telling one, about both the importance and independence of the USSC (or lack thereof).

Next, I am troubled by the lack of diversity in these picks.  The NPR story a few months ago included a fitting quote on this front: "'The administration has put forth a slate that is all white, mostly male, and lacking in diverse experiences or backgrounds,' said Sakira Cook, director of the justice reform program at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights."  Moreover,  all but one of the new nominees are sitting federal judges when the two current USSC members are also both judges.  There is a remarkable irony here, I suppose, given that the GOP pushed during the Bush Administration to change the USSC's statutory charter so that instead of requiring at least three judges it allowed no more than three judges among the USSC's seven members (this composition requirement was changed back in later years).  Now, with Prez Trump as the head of the GOP, it seems he wants almost exclusively judges at the USSC. 

Last but not least, the USSC's statutory charter still states that "not more than four of the members of the Commission shall be members of the same political party."  These biographies suggest that four of these five nominees may be members of the GOP, even though there is already one GOP member on the USSC.  Of course, people can and do change party membership all the time for all sorts of reasons, but this political history still further aggravates my worry that this slate of nominees would not help create a diverse and balanced and dynamic US Sentencing Commission. 

Again, I am inclined to believe that it is unlikely for any slate of USSC nominees to get confirmed by the US Senate in 2020.  But now that it seems these nominations have been officially made, it would seem there is now a chance. 

Prior related posts:

• Prez Trump makes (tough) nominations to US Sentencing Commission 
• Lots of notable reaction to Prez Trump's nominations to the US Sentencing Commission
• Another round of criticisms of Prez Trump's decision to nominate Bill Otis to US Sentencing Commission 
• FAMM writes extended letter to Prez Trump to "strongly discourage" re-nomination of Bill Otis to US Sentencing Commission 
• With his return to blogging, is Bill Otis no longer a potential nominee for the US Sentencing Commission? 
• Notable new talk of (badly needed) new nominees for the US Sentencing Commission

UPDATE: A helpful exchange on Twitter allowed me to understand why these nominations are not quite a "full slate" for the USSC even though this slate has are five nominees and there are two current USSC members (Judges Charles Breyer and Danny Reeves).  I was told that current Commissioner Reeves will be leaving that role in October, so there will be one more open slot in a couple of months for another nominee.  And, consistent with the statutory need for "not more than four of the members of the Commission shall be members of the same political party," it would seem this nominee would need to be a Democrat.