Through May 17, 2023, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 75 vacancies. Seventy-three of those vacancies were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships.
- From April 2 to May 1, one judge was confirmed.
- From April 2 to May 1, two judges were nominated.
By May 1, 832 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 154 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison*:
- President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 248 individuals, 152 of whom were confirmed to their positions.
- President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 180 individuals, 121 of whom were confirmed.
- President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 254 individuals, 167 of whom were confirmed.
*Note: These figures include unsuccessful nominations.
The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Biden, Trump, Obama, and W. Bush administrations (2001-present).
The first tracker is limited to successful nominations, where the nominee was ultimately confirmed to their respective court:
The second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments. A recess appointment is when the president appoints a federal official while the Senate is in recess.
The data contained in these charts is compiled by Ballotpedia staff from publicly available information provided by the Federal Judicial Center. The comparison by days shown between the presidents is not reflective of the larger states of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.
Correction: In our February, March, and April updates, there were errors in our nominations calculations. We regret the errors.
Additional reading:
Current federal judicial vacancies
Judicial vacancies in federal courts
Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden
The Federal Judicial Vacancy Count 5/1/2023
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