Updated on September 25, 2023

In four years, Senate Republicans confirmed 231 Trump nominated federal judges.

The Biden Administration and Democratic Senators got off to a good start, nominating, and confirming 142 federal judges since January 2020.

Now, The Biden Administration and U.S. Senate must accelerate the work confirming President Biden’s progressive, diverse, qualified nominees.

Donald Trump and Senate Republicans confirmed 231 Federal judges in his 4 year term– there is a long way to go for President Biden and Senate Democrats to meet or exceed this number and bring greater balance to the courts.

To get from good to great in the next year and a half, the Senate must fill every possible judicial vacancy, including in states with one or two Republican Senators.

The Committee for a Fair Judiciary is tracking the Senate’s progress to make sure senators are fulfilling their role in restoring balance to the federal courts. We follow:

  • Judicial vacancies in every state to track how senators are doing recommending and confirming judges

  • The confirmation of Biden appointed judges to see how the Administration and Senate’s progress stacks up against recent Presidents

  • The breakdown of appointees on each circuit court of appeal by party to measure the Senate’s progress in flipping control of the circuit courts. 

The current political landscape presents a moment of opportunity to restore a progressive and representative judiciary. This is the moment when the work begins.

Judicial Vacancies

Filling judicial vacancies with President Biden's nominees is a key to combating the right’s court capture. The graphic below tracks the total number of judicial vacancies and nominations by state, broken down by the political party of each state's senators.

Click here to track the status of specific nominees as they go through the process.

 

92

TOTAL VACANCIES

84

DISTRICT COURT VACANCIES

27

PENDING DISTRICT COURT NOMINATIONS

8

CIRCUIT COURT VACANCIES

4

PENDING CIRCUIT COURT NOMINATIONS

 
 

First Term Judicial Confirmations by President

In President Trump’s first term, the Senate confirmed 231 judges, the most during the first term of any recent president. As a result, over 1 in 4 federal judges are Trump appointees. To restore balance, the Senate must match or exceed its pace in confirming Trump nominees.

 

Judicial Nominations Confirmed

 

Circuit Court Breakdown by Party Control

Republican-appointed judges make up the majority on most powerful circuit courts of appeal. In order to reserve right-wing court capture, the Biden-Harris Administration and Democratic majority in the Senate must flip control of these circuit courts. The Committee for a Fair Judiciary will update this graphic to track how well the Administration and Democratic Senators are doing in filling critical vacancies and restoring balance on these circuit courts.

CIRCUIT 1: ME, MA, NH, RI, PR 2: NY, VT 3: DE, NJ, PA, USVI 4: MD, NC, SC, VA, WV 5: LA, MS, TX 6: KY, MI, OH, TN 7: IL, IN, WI 8: AR, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD 9: AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, GU, CNMI 10: CO, KS, NM, OK, UT, WY 11: AL, FL, GA

 
 

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