Trump gets another vacancy on the 5th Circuit: Judge Southwick to retire

Judge Leslie Southwick, 76, told President Donald Trump on Monday that he plans to leave active service on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and take senior status at the end of 2026 or after his successor is confirmed — opening the president’s second vacancy on the court during his second term.

Southwick, appointed to the court by President George W. Bush in 2007, wrote to Trump that “the time has come to leave more of the judging to younger judges”, as Reuters reports.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans with jurisdiction over Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, is considered one of the most conservative appeals courts in the country: 12 of its 17 active judges were appointed by Republican presidents, six of them by Trump himself.

This is the second vacancy opened to the president on this court during the second term. In June, Trump nominated Judge Anna St. John for the seat left vacant by Judge Kurt Engelhardt, and the appointment of another judge would further strengthen the conservative profile of a key court for federal cases.

Southwick’s retirement is expected to ignite another political battle in the Senate over the confirmation of his successor, at a time when the composition of the federal courts remains one of the hottest fields of confrontation between the two parties.