The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Michael Waltz as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Sept. 19, 2025. The Senate voted 47-43 in favor of his nomination, with 44 Republicans and three Democrats, Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), voting in favor. There were 41 Democrats who voted against…
On September 11, 2025, Senate Republicans voted to change chamber rules governing the nomination process for certain types of presidential nominees. The vote was 53-45, along party lines. This procedure, where a majority party changes a Senate rule or precedent through a simple majority vote, is often referred to as the nuclear option or constitutional…
As states implement or consider new congressional district boundaries ahead of the 2026 elections, debates over how votes translate into control of U.S. House seats are in the spotlight. Our review of more than 40 years of data shows that the share of all House votes a party receives across the country does not always…
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from Aug. 2 through Sept. 1, 2025. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month. HIGHLIGHTS New vacancies There were 50 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 5.7, which…
President Donald Trump (R) has appointed and the Senate has confirmed five Article III federal judges through September 1, 2025, his first year of his second term in office. This is the fewest Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidents’ second terms since Bill Clinton (D). The average number of federal judges…
On Aug. 27, the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) announced that it is suspending operations, as a number of large banks have exited the group over the last several months. NZBA has said its remaining members will vote to determine whether it should remain a member-based group or transition to an organization that provides guidance…
There were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 49 vacancies as of Aug. 29, 2025. Forty-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: By Aug. 29, 2025—222 days in office—President Donald Trump (R) had nominated…