Yesterday, the Senate confirmed President Trump’s 15th circuit-court nominee, Kyle Duncan. Nonetheless, the number of judicial nominees stacking up on the Senate floor continues to climb, with six circuit nominees and 29 district-court nominees presently awaiting confirmation votes.
To address the growing number of unconfirmed nominees, the Senate Rules and Administration Committee will vote later today on the Lankford Proposal, which would shorten post-cloture debate times. Under the proposed rule, Cabinet-level nominees, Supreme Court nominees, and Court of Appeals nominees could still be debated post-cloture for a maximum of 30 hours. But post-cloture debate for all other nominees would be capped at eight hours, with the exception of district-court nominees who would be capped at two hours.
Also today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Andy Oldham, President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Oldham is the current General Counsel and former Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Texas, and is yet another outstanding nominee for the federal bench.
Here is this week’s update on federal judicial nominations:
Current and known future vacancies: 180
Courts of Appeals: 27
District/Specialty Courts*: 153
Pending nominees for current and known future vacancies: 72
Courts of Appeals: 12
District/Specialty Courts: 60
* Includes the Court of Federal Claims and the International Trade Court
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings
| Nominee (Circuit) | Nomination Date | Days Pending | Both Blue Slips Returned? | Judiciary Committee Hearing Date |
| Ryan Bounds (9th) | 9/7/2017 | 230 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Andrew Oldham (5th) | 2/15/2018 | 69 | Yes | 4/25/2018 |
| Britt Grant (11th) | 4/12/2018 | 13 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| David Porter (3rd) | 4/12/2018 | 13 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Paul Matey (3rd) | 4/12/2018 | 13 | No | Not yet scheduled |
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Judiciary Committee Votes
| Nominee (Circuit) | Nomination Date | Days Pending | Judiciary Committee Hearing Date |
| Mark Bennett (9th) | 2/15/2018 | 69 | 4/11/2018 |
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Floor Votes
| Nominee (Circuit) | Nomination Date | Days Pending | Date Reported to Senate Floor |
| Kurt Engelhardt (5th) | 10/5/2017 | 202 | 2/8/2018 |
| Michael Brennan (7th) | 8/3/2017 | 265 | 2/15/2018 |
| Joel Carson (10th) | 12/20/2017 | 126 | 3/15/2018 |
| John Nalbandian (6th) | 1/24/2018 | 91 | 4/19/2018 |
| Amy St. Eve (7th) | 2/15/2018 | 69 | 4/19/2018 |
| Michael Scudder (7th) | 2/15/2018 | 69 | 4/19/2018 |
Nominees Awaiting Floor Votes: 35
Courts of Appeals: 6
District/Specialty Courts: 29
Nominees Confirmed by the Senate: 33
Supreme Court: 1
Courts of Appeals: 15
District/Specialty Courts: 17