Yesterday President Biden formally submitted to the Senate his first tranche of judicial nominations, nine picks the White House had announced on March 30. Three of them are for circuit courts of appeals: Ketanji Brown Jackson for the D.C. Circuit, Candace Jackson-Akiwumi for the Seventh Circuit, and Tiffany Cunningham for the Federal Circuit.
In the early days of the 117th Congress, which began on January 3, President Trump had submitted seven judicial nominations to the Senate, but all of them were withdrawn by Biden after he was inaugurated. Over the course of his presidency, Trump had renominated, and a Republican Senate confirmed, 15 judicial nominees who had earlier been nominated by President Obama. Time will tell if Biden, with all his rhetoric about unity, plans to renominate any of his predecessor’s judicial picks.
Below is a full update on the status of President Biden’s judicial nominations.
Current and known future vacancies: 102
Supreme Court: 0
Courts of Appeals: 12
District/Specialty Courts*: 90
Pending nominees for current and known future vacancies: 9
Courts of Appeals: 3
District/Specialty Courts*: 6
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings
| Nominee (Circuit) | Original Nomination
Date |
Days Since Original Nomination | Both Blue Slips Returned? | Judiciary Committee Hearing Date |
| Ketanji Brown Jackson (D.C.) | 4/19/21 | 1 | N/A | Not yet scheduled |
| Candace Jackson-Akiwumi (7th) | 4/19/21 | 1 | — | Not yet scheduled |
| Tiffany Cunningham (Federal) | 4/19/21 | 1 | N/A | Not yet scheduled |
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Judiciary Committee Votes
| Nominee (Circuit) | Original Nomination Date | Days Since Original Nomination | Judiciary Committee Hearing Date |
| None |
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Floor Votes
| Nominee (Circuit) | Nomination Date | Days Since Original Nomination | Date Reported to Senate Floor |
| None |
Nominees Awaiting Floor Votes: 0
Courts of Appeals: 0
District/Specialty Courts*: 0
All Nominees (via Judiciary Committee) Confirmed by the Senate during the 117th Congress: 0
Supreme Court: 0
Courts of Appeals: 0
District/Specialty Courts*: 0
All Nominees (via Judiciary Committee) Confirmed by the Senate since Inauguration Day: 0
Supreme Court: 0
Courts of Appeals: 0
District/Specialty Courts*: 0
* Includes the Court of Federal Claims, Territorial Courts, and the International Trade Courts
All Article III Nominees Confirmed by the Senate since Inauguration Day: 0
Supreme Court: 0
Courts of Appeals: 0
District/International Trade Courts: 0