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Getty Images President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump on Wednesday celebrated success at getting conservative judges confirmed and said Turkey’s president would visit the White House next week.
JUDGES
In a White House ceremony, Trump touted the confirmation by the Senate of more than 150 federal judges and predicted that number would rise to 182 by the end of the year.
The White House said 112 nominees have been confirmed to district courts and 43 to appeals courts, in additional to two justices on the Supreme Court. The Senate is close to confirming the 44th appeals court judge.
Trump has mocked former President Barack Obama for leaving him with many judicial vacancies. But advocacy groups say Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and fellow Republicans were responsible for confirmations grinding nearly to a halt in Obama’s final two years in office. At the event, Trump called on McConnell to speak, saying: “I think there’s nobody that’s ever done a better job, ever, than Mitch McConnell.”
ERDOGAN VISIT
Before speaking on judges, Trump tweeted that he’d meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Nov. 13. Last month, Trump withdrew U.S. forces from Syrian territory near Turkey, which paved the way for an offensive by Turkish forces against Kurds.
Now read: ‘Don’t be a fool!’ Trump tells Turkey’s Erdogan in a brash letter urging Syria deal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
