President Joe Biden (D) has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 58 Article III federal judges through April 1 of his second year in office. This is the most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since 1981. The Senate had confirmed 29 of President Donald Trump’s (R) appointees at this point in his term.
The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through April 1 of their second year in office is 39.
- The median number of Supreme Court appointees is one. Four presidents (Reagan, Clinton, Obama, and Trump) had made one appointment. Three presidents (H.W. Bush, W. Bush, and Biden) had not appointed any.
- The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is eight. Biden had made the most appointees with 15, followed by Trump with 14. Clinton had appointed the fewest with four.
- The median number of United States District Court appointees is 35. Biden had made the most appointees with 43, followed by Reagan with 40. Obama had appointed the fewest with 11.
Article III federal judges are appointed for life terms by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate per Article III of the United States Constitution. Article III judges include judges on the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. courts of appeal, U.S. district courts, and the Court of International Trade.
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