As of December 13, 2023, there were 64 vacancies in the 890 authorized federal judicial posts. Sixty-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 November 13 through December 13, 2023:
- Eight judges have been confirmed.
- Six judges have been nominated.
By December 13, 2023—1,058 days in office—President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 195 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison*:
- President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 314 individuals, 194 of whom were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
- President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 227 individuals, 165 of whom were confirmed.
- President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 286 individuals, 194 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second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments.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.
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