On The Bench: Week June 22, 2023

The Senate made some progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, there have been 2 Article III confirmations: Julie Rikelman (1st Cir.) in a 51-43 vote, and Natasha Merle (E.D.N.Y.) in a 50-49 vote. With these confirmations, there are still 17 nominees waiting on the Senate floor for cloture and confirmation votes.

The Senate is scheduled to go on recess from June 24 through July 9. Once the Senate returns from the mid-summer recess, there are only three work weeks scheduled before the Senate leaves for the August recess. This potentially could lead to a real slowdown in judicial confirmations.

As of June 22, there are 87 Article III vacancies, 71 of which are current. There are 25 pending nominees: 17 waiting for floor votes, 4 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 4 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 136 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.