On The Bench: Week May 19, 2023

There was substantial progress on judicial nominations this week. The Senate confirmed 3 Article III nominees: Bradley Garcia (D.C. Cir.) in a 53-40 vote, Jeremy Daniel (N.D. Ill.) in a 56-40 vote, and Nancy Abudu (11th Cir.) in a 49-47 vote. These confirmations exemplify the White House’s commitment to diversifying the federal bench. Bradley Garcia is the first Latinx judge to ever serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Nancy Abudu is the first Black woman to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

As of this writing, the Senate is scheduled to be on recess next week. The next vote is scheduled for May 30 on Darrel Papillion’s (E.D. La.) confirmation vote.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for 2 Article III nominees: Judge Ana de Alba (9th Cir.) and Judge Irma Ramirez (5th Cir.). Both nominees are now eligible for a committee vote.

On Thursday, the Committee held a mark-up. At the mark-up, no votes were taken on judicial nominations. After the mark-up, the media reported that Michael Delaney (1st Cir.) asked the White House to withdraw his nomination.

As of May 19, there are 92 Article III vacancies, 71 of which are current. There are 32 pending nominees: 22 waiting for floor votes, 3 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 7 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 129 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.