On The Bench: Week March 2, 2023

The Senate made good progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, the Senate confirmed 6 Article III nominees: Jamar Walker (E.D. Va.) in a 52-41 vote, Margaret Guzman (D. Mass.) in a 49-48 vote, Jamal Whitehead (W.D. Wash.) in a 51-43 vote, Araceli Martinez-Olguin (N.D. Cal.) in a 49-48 vote, Judge Colleen Lawless (C.D. Ill.) in a 51-41 vote, and Magistrate Judge Jonathan Grey (E.D. Mich.) in a 49-42 vote. These confirmations continue the trend under the Biden-Harris Administration of diversifying the federal bench, as a majority of them are people of color.

The Senate also invoked cloture on 2 Article III nominees: Magistrate Judge Gordon Gallagher (D. Colo.) and Judge James Simmons Jr. (S.D. Cal.). Their confirmation votes could come as soon as next week.

The Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to have an executive business meeting this week, where it was set to vote on several judicial nominees. The meeting, however, was cancelled.

As of March 2, there are 102 Article III vacancies, 79 of which are current. There are 40 pending nominees: 25 waiting for floor votes, 11 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 4 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 111 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.