In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from July 2, 2025, to August 1, 2025. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Vacancies: There have been three new judicial vacancies since the July 1, 2025 report. There are 47 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report. Including the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, 48 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There have been four new nominations since the previous report.
- Confirmations: There have been five new confirmations since the previous report.
New vacancies
There were 47 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 5.4, which is 0.2 percentage points lower than the percentage in the July 2025 report.
- None of the nine U.S. Supreme Court positions are vacant.
- Two (1.7%) of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions are vacant.
- 44 (6.5%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.
- One (11.1%) of the nine U.S. Court of International Trade positions are vacant.
A vacancy occurs when a judge resigns, retires, takes senior status, or passes away. Article III judges, who serve on courts authorized by Article III of the Constitution, are appointed for life terms.
Three judges left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies. As Article III judicial positions, these vacancies must be filled by a nomination from the president. Nominations are subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.
- Judge Dennis Saylor assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
- Judge Sean Cox retired from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
- Judge Stephen Vaden left his seat on the U.S. Court of International Trade after President Donald Trump (R) appointed him to be the Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Federal judicial vacancies
The following map shows the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals as of August 1, 2025.
The following map shows the number of vacancies in the United States District Courts as of August 1, 2025.
The following chart shows the number of federal judicial vacancies each month during the Trump administration from January 21, 2025, to August 1, 2025.
New nominations
Trump has announced four new nominations since the previous report.
- Joshua D. Dunlap, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
- Eric Tung, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
- Bill Mercer, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.
- Jennifer Mascott, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has nominated 16 individuals to Article III positions.
New confirmations
Since the previous report, the U.S. Senate has confirmed five of Trump’s nominees to Article III seats:
- Whitney Hermandorfer to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
- Emil Bove to the U.S. United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
- Zachary Bluestone to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
- Joshua Divine to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
- Cristian M. Stevens to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
As of August 1, 2025, the Senate has confirmed five of Trump’s judicial nominees—three district court judges and two appeals court judges—since January 2025.
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