Monthly tracker: Article III federal judicial nominations by president by days in office since 2001


Through April 13, 2023, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 76 vacancies. Seventy-four of those were for Article III judgeships. This repo​​rt is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships.

  • In the past month, 10 judges have been confirmed
  • In the past month, four judges have been nominated.

By April 1, 802 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 158 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison*: 

  • President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 246 individuals, 150 of which were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
  • President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 178 individuals, 119 of which were confirmed.
  • President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 223 individuals, 140 of which 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second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments.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 second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments.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.

Correction: In our February, March, and April updates, there were errors in our nominations calculations for President Joe Biden. We have fixed these and regret the errors.

Additional reading:

Current federal judicial vacancies

Judicial vacancies in federal courts

Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

The Federal Judicial Vacancy Count 4/1/2023