Author

Gabriella Cate

Gabriella Cate is a staff writer at Ballotpedia. Contact us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Monthly tracker: Article III federal judicial nominations by president by days in office since 2001

By Gabriella Cate
In Federal
March 7, 2022 at 9:53 PM

Through March 1, 2022, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 80 vacancies. Seventy-eight of those vacancies were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships.

  • In the past month, one judge has been confirmed
  • In the past month, two judges have been nominated*.

*Note: This figure includes nomination announcements in addition to nominations officially received in the Senate.

By March 1, 406 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 83 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison**: 

  • President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 104 individuals, 76 of whom were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
  • President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 52 individuals, 47 of whom were ultimately confirmed.
  • President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 132 individuals, 77 of whom were ultimately confirmed.

**Note: These figures include unsuccessful nominations.

The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Biden, Trump, Obama, and W. Bush administrations (2001-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second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments.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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Dori Hauck sworn in to North Dakota House of Representatives

By Gabriella Cate
In State
March 24, 2021 at 11:25 AM

Dori Hauck (R) was sworn in to the North Dakota House of Representatives to replace former Representative Luke Simons (R) on March 16. Simons, who had represented District 36 since 2016 and was reelected in 2020, was expelled from the House on March 4 following multiple misconduct allegations. 

Simons was the first lawmaker in state history to be expelled. According to Article IV, Section 12 of the state constitution, the House “may punish its members or other persons for contempt or disorderly behavior in its presence” and can expel members if two-thirds of the chamber concurs. The vote to expel Simons was 69-25.

Hauck served as secretary-treasurer of the District 36 Republican Party for eight years prior to her appointment. She will serve in the House until 2022.

In the North Dakota Legislature, vacancies are filled by the district committee of the party that holds the seat, and a replacement is named within three weeks. North Dakota is one of four states that fills vacancies by political party appointments. The others are Colorado, Illinois, and Indiana. Of the other state legislatures, 25 fill vacancies through special elections, 10 fill them through gubernatorial appointments, seven fill them through board of county commissioners appointments, three fill them by a hybrid-system, and in one state, Ohio, the legislative chamber fills them.

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Dan McKee (D) sworn in as governor of Rhode Island

By Gabriella Cate
In State
March 8, 2021 at 12:00 PM

Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Dan McKee (D) was sworn in as the state’s new governor after former Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) resigned on March 2. Raimondo, who was first elected in 2014, resigned after being confirmed as secretary of commerce in the Biden administration.

McKee was first elected as lieutenant governor in 2014, before he served as the mayor of Cumberland, Rhode Island, for six terms. He was in his second of two possible four-year-terms as lieutenant governor. 

According to the state’s constitution, gubernatorial vacancies are filled by the lieutenant governor, who serves until the next regularly-scheduled election in 2022. While McKee has not yet announced his successor, he began taking applications for the position several weeks ago. According to his communications director, he has received 62 applications and will be releasing the names of the candidates that are interviewed.

McKee will be the 76th person and 34th Democrat to serve as the governor of Rhode Island. Of the previous officeholders dating back to 1921, 14 were Democrats, and 10 were Republicans. Rhode Island is currently one of 15 states with a Democratic state government trifecta.

There will be a public swearing-in ceremony on Sunday, March 7.

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