The 117th Congress has drawn to a close, and we have the final statistics on judicial nominations for that Congress, which includes the entire Biden presidency to date. The Democratic Senate was aggressive in pushing forward the president’s picks, who, as a group, are probably farther to the left than judges appointed by any previous president. But for all of Biden’s lower-court appointments, the president did not have his predecessor’s opportunity to reshape the Supreme Court, which has been on a refreshing constitutionalist streak that signals its readiness to check the White House’s lawless lapses.
And several of the most brazenly activist judicial nominees submitted to the Senate, including “Dark Money” Dale Ho and preeminent pro-abortion litigator Julie Rikelman, did not make it to the Senate floor. This is not to look at the near future through rose-colored glasses; the 118th Congress features a Senate with an additional seat for the Democrats. But if there is a silver lining, it is that the voters in 2024 will be deciding the fate of seats currently occupied by Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jon Tester of Montana, and newly minted Independent Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Below is a full update on the status of President Biden’s judicial nominations. Note that the following numbers do not include six additional district court nominees announced by the White House on December 21 but not yet submitted to the Senate.
Current and known future vacancies: 113
Supreme Court: 0
Courts of Appeals: 13
District/Specialty Courts*: 100
Pending nominees for current and known future vacancies: 44
Courts of Appeals: 9
District/Specialty Courts*: 35
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 |
| Wamble, Jabari B. (10th) | 9/6/22 | 119 | No | 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) | Original Nomination Date | Days Since Original Nomination | Date Reported to Senate Floor |
| Bradley N. Garcia (D.C.) | 6/15/22 | 202 | 9/15/22 |
| Cindy K. Chung (3rd Cir.) | 7/12/22 | 175 | 9/29/22 |
| Maria Araujo Kahn (2nd Cir.) | 8/1/22 | 155 | 12/1/22 |
| Anthony Johnstone (9th) | 9/6/22 | 119 | 12/1/22 |
| DeAndrea G. Benjamin (4th Cir.) | 9/6/22 | 119 | 12/8/22 |
Nominees Awaiting Floor Votes: 24
Courts of Appeals: 5
District/Specialty Courts*: 19
All Nominees (via Judiciary Committee) Confirmed by the Senate during the 117th Congress: 99
Supreme Court: 1
Courts of Appeals: 28
District/Specialty Courts*: 70
All Nominees (via Judiciary Committee) Confirmed by the Senate since Inauguration Day: 99
Supreme Court: 1
Courts of Appeals: 28
District/Specialty Courts*: 70
All Article III Nominees Confirmed by the Senate since Inauguration Day: 97
Supreme Court: 1
Courts of Appeals: 28
District/International Trade Courts: 68
* Includes the Court of Federal Claims, Territorial Courts and the International Trade Courts
† Eleventh Circuit nominee Nancy Abudu, Sixth Circuit nominee Rachel Bloomekatz, and First Circuit nominee Julie Rikelman failed to report favorably out of committee