President Joe Biden (D) has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 46 Article III federal judges through March 1 of his second year in office. This is the most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since 1981. The Senate had confirmed 26 of President Donald Trump’s (R) appointees at this point in his term.
The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through March 1 of their second year in office is 32.
- The median number of Supreme Court appointees is one. Four presidents (Reagan, Clinton, Obama, and Trump) made one appointment. Three presidents (H.W. Bush, W. Bush, and Biden) had not appointed any.
- The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is seven. Biden and Trump tied for the most appointees with 14 each, followed by Reagan with nine. Clinton appointed the fewest with three.
- The median number of United States District Court appointees is 30. Reagan had the most appointees with 34. Obama appointed the fewest with 10.
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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