How Trump Could Reshape the Lower Federal Courts Russell WheelerThursday, November 17, 2016 Speculation about changes to the Supreme Court has overshadowed discussion of the likely changes in the courts of appeals and district courts, where most federal judicial work gets done. President Trump will assume, as did President Bush, that he has a mandate to reshape the federal courts—popular vote loss notwithstanding. Filibuster-deprived Senate Democrats can be expected to exploit every tool at their disposal to stop controversial nominees, given that Republicans confirmed only a handful of Obama nominees once they took control of the Senate in 2015. www.brookings.edu