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


Donald Trump has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 203 Article III federal judges through September 1, 2020, his fourth year in office. This is the second-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since Jimmy Carter (D), and is tied with the presidency of Bill Clinton (D). The Senate had confirmed 248 of Carter’s appointees at this point in his term.

The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through September 1 of their fourth year in office is 191.

The median number of Supreme Court justices appointed is two. Along with President Trump, Presidents Barack Obama (D), Bill Clinton (D), and George H.W. Bush (R) had each appointed two Supreme Court justices at this point in their first terms. Ronald Reagan (R) had appointed one, while Carter and George W. Bush (R) had not appointed any.

The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is 35. Carter appointed the most with 54, while Reagan appointed the least with 28. Trump’s 53 appointments make up 30% of the total 179 judgeships across the courts of appeal.

The median number of United States District Court appointees is 146. Carter appointed the most with 191, and Reagan appointed the fewest with 117. Trump has appointed 146 district court judges so far. Those appointments make up 22% 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.

Additional reading:
Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
The Federal Judicial Vacancy Count 9/1/2020 
Current federal judicial vacancies
Article III, United States Constitution