President Joe Biden (D) has appointed and the U.S. Senate has confirmed 175 Article III federal judges through February 1, 2024, his fourth year in office. This is the third-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since President Ronald Reagan (R).
The average number of federal judges appointed by previous presidents through February 1 of their fourth year in office is 156.
By February of his fourth year, President Donald Trump (R) had the most appointees confirmed with 187, followed by President Bill Clinton (D) at 186. Reagan had the fewest appointments at 122.
The median number of Supreme Court justices appointed is two. At this point in their presidencies, two presidents—Reagan and Biden—had made one appointment. Four presidents—President George H.W. Bush (R), Clinton, President Barack Obama (D), and Trump—had made two. President George W. Bush (R) had not appointed any SCOTUS justices by this point in his presidency.
The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is 30. Biden has made 40 such nominations. At this point in their presidencies, Trump had made the most appointments with 50, and Reagan had made the least with 23.
The median number of United States District Court appointees is 133. Both Biden and Trump made 133 appointments by February of their fourth year in office. Clinton made the most appointments with 152, and H.W. Bush made the least with 95.
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.
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