A crackdown on "judge shopping" provoked a telling reaction from Mitch McConnell

Why are Sens. Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn and Thom Tillis so upset about an overdue judicial reform? The answer is obvious.

On Tuesday, the little-known Judicial Conference of the United States — the policymaking arm of the federal judiciary — made some unusual headlines by announcing a new effort to make it harder for plaintiffs in certain lawsuits challenging state or federal policies to hand-pick the specific judge who hears their case. This crackdown on “judge shopping” is long overdue. It has also provoked a rather telling reaction from Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn and Thom Tillis.

The little-known Judicial Conference of the United States — the policymaking arm of the federal judiciary — made some unusual headlines.

In a letter to the chief judges of all 94 federal district courts on Thursday, the senators urged those jurists to ignore the new policy — which they laid at the feet of Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — because, in their view, these judges should ignore “partisan battles in Washington, D.C.” But it’s judge shopping itself, not efforts by the judiciary to rein it in, that have become a “partisan battle.” The McConnell/Cornyn/Tillis letter, ironically, only drives that point home.