President Joe Biden (D) has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 109 Article III federal judges through March 1, 2023, his third year in office. This is the second-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since Ronald Reagan (R). The Senate had confirmed 86 of President Donald Trump’s (R) appointees at this point in his term.
Presidents have made an average of 93.7 judicial appointments through March 1 of their third year in office. By March 1 of his third year, President Bill Clinton (D) had the most appointees confirmed with 128. President Barack Obama (D) had the fewest confirmations with 69.
The median number of Supreme Court justices appointed is one at this point in a presidency. Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush (R), and Biden made one appointment. Presidents Clinton, Obama, and Trump, made two. President George W. Bush (R) did not appoint any Supreme Court justices by this point in his presidency. The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is 19. President Trump had the most appointees with 31. Presidents Obama and George W. Bush appointed the fewest with 17. The median number of United States District Court appointees is 70. President Clinton had the most appointees with 107. President H.W. Bush appointed the fewest with 48.
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 those 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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