President Donald Trump (R) had not nominated any Article III federal judges as of April 1, 2025, his first year of his second term in office. The average number of federal judges appointed by previous presidents through April 1 of his first year in office is also zero.

By April 1 of his first term in office, only three of the last seven presidents had nominated a candidate for a judicial position. In his first term, Trump nominated his first candidate 12 days after taking office. President George H. W. Bush (R) and President Barack Obama (D) made their nominations within the first 72 days in office. Despite these nominations, no president had appointed (nominated with Senate confirmation) a successful judicial nominee by this time in his term.

The median number of Supreme Court justice appointees, United States Court of Appeals appointees, and United States District Court appointees by this point in a presidency is zero.

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.