Trump has appointed fourth-most federal judges through November 1 of a president’s third year


Donald Trump has appointed, with Senate confirmation, 157 Article III federal judges through November 1, 2019, his third year in office. This is the fourth-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in a presidency of all presidents dating back to Theodore Roosevelt. Only Jimmy Carter (177), George W. Bush (167), and Bill Clinton (166) had more.
 
The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through November 1 of their third year in office is 91.
 
The median number of Supreme Court justices appointed is two. William Taft’s (R) five appointments were the most among this set. Presidents Franklin Roosevelt (D), Jimmy Carter (D), and George W. Bush (R) did not appoint any justices through November 1 of their third years in office. Trump has appointed 2 justices so far.
 
The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is 18. Trump and Carter appointed the most with 43 each, and Presidents Theodore Roosevelt (R) and Woodrow Wilson (D) appointed the fewest with five each. Trump’s 43 appointments make up 24 percent of the total 179 judgeships in the courts of appeal.
 
The median number of United States District Court appointees is 66. W. Bush appointed the most with 137, and T. Roosevelt appointed the fewest with 10. Trump has appointed 110 district court judges so far. Those appointments make up 16 percent of the 677 judgeships in 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.