Through Jan. 1, 2023, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 85 vacancies. Eighty-three of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships.
- In Dec. 2022, 10 judges were confirmed.
- In Dec. 2022, the president announced his intent to nominate six individuals.
By Jan. 1, 2023, after 712 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had officially nominated 142 judges to Article III judgeships. Ninety-seven nominees had been confirmed. For historical comparison, and including unsuccessful nominations:
- President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 176 individuals, 86 of which were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
- President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 119 individuals, 71 of which were confirmed.
- President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 171 individuals, 100 of which were confirmed.
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second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments.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 status of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.Additional reading:
- Current federal judicial vacancies
- Judicial vacancies in federal courts
- The Federal Judicial Vacancy Count 1/1/2023
