The Federal Vacancy Count tracks vacancies, nominations, and confirmations to all United States Article III federal courts in a one-month period. This month's edition includes nominations, confirmations, and vacancies
from July 2 to August 3.
Highlights
- Vacancies: There have been two new judicial vacancies since the previous report. There are 73 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report. Including the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, 79 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There have been no new nominations since the previous report.
- Confirmations: There have been two new confirmations since the previous report.
Vacancy count for August 3, 2020
A breakdown of the vacancies at each level can be found in the table below. For a more detailed look at the vacancies on the federal courts, click here.
*Though the United States territorial courts are named as district courts, they are not Article III courts. They are created in accordance with the power granted under Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. Click here for more information.
New vacancies
Two judges have left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies, since the previous vacancy count. As Article III judicial positions, the president must make a nomination to fill the vacancy. Nominations are subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S.
Senate.
U.S. District Court vacancies
The following map displays U.S. District Court vacancies as of August 1.
New nominations
President Trump has not announced any new nominations since the previous report.
The president has announced 262 Article III judicial nominations since taking office January 20, 2017. The president named 69 judicial nominees in 2017, 92 in 2018, and 77 in 2019. For more information on the president’s judicial nominees, click here.
New confirmations
Between July 2 and August 3, the Senate confirmed two of the president’s nominees to Article III courts.
Between January 2017 and August 3, 2020, the Senate confirmed 202 of President Trump’s judicial nominees—145 district court judges, 53 appeals court judges, two Court of International Trade judges, and two Supreme Court justices.
Trump is tied with President Bill Clinton (D) for the second-most Article III judicial appointments through August 1 of his fourth year of all presidencies since Jimmy Carter (D). The Senate confirmed 247 of Carter’s federal judicial appointees at this point in his presidency.
The average number of confirmed presidential judicial appointees through August 1 of the fourth year in office is 188.
The median number of U.S. Court of Appeals appointees is 35. Carter appointed the most with 54, while Reagan appointed the least with 27. Trump’s 53 appointments make up 29.6% of the total 179 judgeships across the courts of appeal.
Need a daily fix of judicial nomination, confirmation, and vacancy information? Click here for continuing updates on the status of all federal judicial nominees.
Or, if you prefer, we also maintain a list of individuals the president has nominated.
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