On The Bench: Week June 8, 2023

The Senate made limited progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, there have been no Article III nominees confirmed. Late last week, Majority Leader Schumer filed cloture on Dale Ho (S.D.N.Y.). On Wednesday, the cloture motion was withdrawn. Media reports indicate the cloture motion was withdrawn due to attendance issues within the Democratic Caucus.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for 4 Article III nominees: Judge Loren AliKhan (D.D.C.), Susan DeClercq (E.D. Mich.), Judge Julia Munley (M.D. Pa.), and Judge Vernon Oliver (D. Conn.). These four nominees are now eligible for a committee vote. On Thursday, the Committee held an executive business meeting where it advanced 2 Article III nominees to the Senate floor: Judge Ana de Alba (9th Cir.) and Judge Irma Ramirez (5th Cir.). With these 2 nominees advancing and no confirmations this week, there are now 23 nominees on the Senate floor awaiting cloture and confirmation votes.

The White House announced a small slate of judicial nominees this week, including 2 district court nominees: Jerry Edwards, Jr. (W.D. La.) and Brandon Long (E.D. La.). Even with this announcement, there are officially still 62 Article III vacancies without an announced nominee.

As of June 8, there are 93 Article III vacancies, 74 of which are current. Once the new nominees are officially nominated, there will be 31 pending nominees: 23 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, 130 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.