EDITORIAL: Bench game

Among the topics of conversation surrounding the election of Donald Trump as president has been his plans for the U.S. Supreme Court. But he also stands to make as great an impact (and a quicker one) by filling vacancies on the nation’s federal appeals courts.

Once Mr. Trump takes office, he will have an immediate opportunity to deliver on his promise to fill the current Supreme Court vacancy with a judge in the mold of the late Antonin Scalia. Many voters supported Mr. Trump precisely because of his pledge — and his recent comments indicate he plans to honor it.

Not getting much discussion, however, is how Mr. Trump could affect the balance of the nation’s 13 appeals courts. In the past eight years, President Obama has systematically worked to create a liberal majority on nine of those courts — a majority that too often ignores constitutional issues inherent in an activist federal bureaucracy.

Mr. Trump has a significant chance to reverse that trend.

Doing so would have long-term ramifications for American jurisprudence. While the Supreme Court hears about only 75 cases each term, the appeals courts make thousands of rulings each year that become settled law.

Ironically, Senate Democrats — led by Sen. Harry Reid — have made it easier for the upper house to confirm Mr. Trump’s judicial selections. Recall that Sen. Reid successfully pushed the unprecedented step in 2013 of abolishing the filibuster for lower court nominees in order to pack the D.C. Circuit — which hears many challenges to federal regulatory policies — with progressive judges.

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. But sacrificing precedent and principle for short-term gain is rarely a prudent course and — as many observers predicted at the time — Sen. Reid’s arrogant, foolish and shortsighted power play will now come back to haunt his own party.

Mr. Trump will have no shortage of advice from those hoping to influence his judicial preferences. But here’s hoping the great majority of his nominees adhere to a philosophy which recognizes that our constitutional boundaries on state power form the foundation for a free and prosperous society that promotes the liberty and well-being of its citizens.