President Joe Biden (D) has appointed and the U.S. Senate has confirmed 166 Article III federal judges through January 1, 2024, his fourth year in office. The average number of federal judges appointed by previous presidents through January 1 of his fourth year in office is 154.3.
By January 1 of his fourth year, President Donald Trump (R) had the most appointees confirmed with 187. President Ronald Reagan (R) had the fewest confirmations with 122.
The median number of Supreme Court justices appointed is one. Three presidents—Reagan, George H.W. Bush (R), and Biden—made one appointment. Three presidents—Bill Clinton (D), Barack Obama (D), and Trump—made two. President George W. Bush (R) had not appointed any Supreme Court justices by this point in his presidency.
The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is 30. By this point in his presidency, Trump had the most appointees with 50, while Reagan appointed the fewest with 23. Biden’s 39 appointments make up 21.8% of the 179 judgeships across the courts of appeal.
The median number of United States District Court appointees is 126. By this point in his presidency, Clinton had the most appointees with 151. H.W. Bush appointed the fewest with 93. Biden’s 126 appointments make up 18.6% of the 677 judgeships across the district courts.
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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