There were 43 vacancies out of 890 authorized federal judicial posts as of February 25, 2025. All of the vacancies were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships.
By February 25, 2025, 36 days in office for his second term, President Donald Trump (R) had not nominated any individuals to federal judgeships on Article III courts. For historical comparison:
- President Joe Biden (D) had not nominated any individuals to Article III judgeships.
- Trump had nominated one individual at this time during his first term. The nominee was confirmed for the position.
- President Barack Obama (D) had not nominated any individuals to Article III judgeships.
The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Trump, Biden, and Obama administrations (2009-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second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments.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 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.
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