They call the Senate the “deliberative body” — and it’s been deliberate all right. This week, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had the honor of presiding over President Trump’s 150th (and 151st and 152nd) judicial confirmation hitting the milestone at record speed — and cementing this administration’s place as one of the most influential court-shapers in history.

It’s not a story the media will want to tell, but the impact that Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell have had on the courts is one of the greatest stories of the 45th presidency. The mark, which puts this administration ahead of Obama's by more than 50 at this point, is astounding. It means, experts say, that by the end of his term, President Trump may have shaped as much as 30 percent of the bench — a historic legacy that will reverberate through America for generations to come.

McConnell, who has quietly plowed through the nominations at break-neck speed, is most proud of the kind of people Republicans have played a part in elevating. “[The judges] we’ve been nominating believe in the simple, quaint notion that maybe the judges ought to follow the law. I’m amazed that that’s controversial…” he said on Fox News. “We are making an important difference for the country that will last for a very long time and my motto for this Congress is: ‘leave no vacancy behind.’”

Thursday, on “Washington Watch,” Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) had nothing but praise for the president — not just for keeping his promise on the courts, but well surpassing it.

“It’s an amazing number. One hundred and fifty judges in just three years — less than three years. It’s really, really extraordinary. It’s a testament to this administration. President Trump took a pledge. He said, ‘I’m going to nominate conservative, pro-Constitution, pro-life judges to the bench. And he’s done exactly that… And given the history of what the courts have been used for by the Left… this is so significant. And it has generational impact.”

Still, Hawley said, there’s no reason to stop now. “There’s still a lot of work to do. There are still almost 100 open seats on the federal courts at all levels. That’s a bunch of seats. That’s a bunch of judges. We need to fill those with pro-Constitution men and women.” He believes, and we agree, that this is something that will matter for America and for our country — not just for the next two or three years, “but for the next 30 and 40 and 50.” President Trump is going to have the chance to appoint something like a quarter or a third of the entire federal judiciary.

“And… look, [the] judges in our country are extremely powerful. I mean, if you look around the world, we’re kind of an anomaly. Judges in the country have more power for better or for worse than in a lot of other places. So who sits on the bench for those lifetime appointments? Who makes decisions about what our Constitution means and how to interpret it?”

Someday, very soon, Americans will find out for themselves just how significant the president’s investment in the courts has been. Until then, we agree with Senator Hawley: keep it up!

Originally published here.

San Diego Library Renews Drag Fight

Not every Drag Queen Story Hour has a happy ending. And Executive Pastor Amado Huizar and his Chula Vista church has walls of graffiti to prove it.

Like a lot of the area’s faith leaders, Amado thought the idea of turning the local library into a parade of sexual confusion for kids was a horrible one. Never, he told me on “Washington Watch,” did he think this “fad” would come to his neighborhood. And yet, even his suburb of San Diego wasn’t immune. Over the summer, someone just came in, he explained, and slipped this on the library’s calendar. Two homeschool moms who frequent the library saw it and reached out for help.

Where did this come from, they wanted to know? Why was it pushed through, and who approved it? Is there anyone who could cancel or postpone it? There was, of course, but that person — Mayor Mary Salas refused. “We want children feel comfortable about who they are — whoever they are — that’s as simple as it gets.” Surely, local residents argued, there are ways to do that without putting men in women’s clothing and letting them read to little children. Especially, as other communities would point out, with the string of sex offenders volunteering for the job.

“[O]ur message is: it’s not age appropriate,” Pastor Huizar explained. “These are kids aged three to eight. It’s not location appropriate. This is a public venue. And it’s not messenger appropriate. There’s no reason why a drag queen should be reading to kids. And look, this is not a fight against the LGBTQ community. This is not a fight against people who have lived that way. It’s not that at all. It has to do everything with why a drag queen who serves or works in provocative locations and is trying to embellish a [provocative] woman. And it’s not appropriate.”

Someone in the community must have disagreed, because after Amado became face of the petition drive, his church was vandalized. “Sure enough, at every corner there were phrases, hateful words, and graffiti on the walls…" he told reporters. But does he regret his stance? Not one bit. "I come as a father first and foremost. That’s my first calling — before my vocation as a pastor or any vocation… I come as a father to stand up and voice the opposition of the drag queen story hour… [W]e as a faith community have to have a voice… And for [too] much time now the church community has been silenced had decided just to stay away…”

Instead of being concerned about how they’re perceived, believers need to stop and think about the future. “What else is this city council going to pass by and [sweep] under the rug without us knowing?” he wonders. In the meantime, plenty of people — including, he points out, other area drag queens — have thanked Pastor Huizar for his boldness. His response is the same: the extremists can do what they want to do, but the truth is the truth — and he’s going to continue to speak it.

Originally published here.

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.