President Donald Trump (R) has not nominated any Article III federal judges through May 1, 2025, his first year of his second term in office. The average number of federal judges appointed by previous presidents through May 1 of their first year in office is 0.1. Since Ronald Reagan (R), only one president (Trump, during his first term) has made any Article III judicial appointments through May 1 of their first year.
On May 1, 2025, in a Truth Social post, Trump announced that he intends to nominate Whitney Hermandorfer to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. However, because the White House has not officially announced this nomination, it was not included in this month’s numbers.
The Senate had not confirmed any of President Joe Biden’s (D) appointees at this point in his first term, nor any of Trump’s appointees at this point in his first term. By May 1 of his first year, no president had any of his judicial appointments confirmed.
The median number of Supreme Court appointees by this time in a presidency is 0. The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is 0, and the median number of United States District Court appointees is 0.
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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