Author: Maude Carroll

The Senate made limited progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, the Senate has confirmed 2 Article III nominees: Judge Irma Ramirez (5th Cir.) and Judge Loren AliKhan (D.D.C.). With only one scheduled work week remaining this calendar year, the Biden Administration and Senate is 26 Article III confirmations behind President Trump’s total after three years.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business meeting where it advanced two nominees: Sara Hill (N.D. Okla.) and John Russell (N.D. Okla.). Both nominees are now eligible for vote by the full Senate.

As of December 7, there are 92 Article III vacancies, 62 of which are current. There are 32 pending nominees: 19 waiting for floor votes, 6 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 7 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 161 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate made encouraging progress on judicial nominations this week. Over the course of the week, the Senate confirmed 5 Article III nominees: Judge Jeffrey Bryan (D. Minn.), Margaret Garnett (S.D.N.Y.), Micah Smith (D. Haw.), Judge Shanlyn Park (D. Haw.), and Jamel Semper (D.N.J.). The Senate also invoked cloture on Judge Irma Ramirez (5th Cir.), setting up a potential confirmation vote next week.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for 6 Article III nominees: Magistrate Judge Jacquelyn Austin (D.S.C.), Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra (S.D. Fla.), Magistrate Judge Melissa Damian (S.D. Fla.), David Leibowitz (S.D. Fla.), Magistrate Judge Julie Sneed (M.D. Fla.), and Kirk Sherriff (E.D. Cal.). All 6 nominees are now eligible for a full committee vote.

On Thursday, the Committee also held an executive business meeting where it advanced 5 Article III nominees to the Senate floor: Judge Eumi Lee (N.D. Cal.), Magistrate Judge Mustafa Kasubhai (D. Or.), Seth Aframe (1st Cir.), Magistrate Judge Edward Kiel (D.N.J.), and Sarah Russell (D. Conn.).

As of November 30, there are 93 Article III vacancies, 63 of which are current. There are 34 pending nominees: 19 waiting for floor votes, 8 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 7 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 159 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

In other judiciary news, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday to authorize subpoenas relating to the ongoing Supreme Courts ethics issue. The Committee voted to issue two subpoenas to Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo.

The Senate made limited progress on judicial nominations this week. With the focus primarily on funding the government, the Senate only confirmed 1 Article III nominee: Judge Ana de Alba (9th Cir.) in a 48-43 vote. Before leaving for the Thanksgiving recess, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on 2 Article III nominees: Judge Jeffrey Bryan (D. Minn.) and Margaret Garnett (S.D.N.Y.). The cloture vote for Bryan is the first vote scheduled after the recess ends on November 27.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for 2 Article III nominees: Sara Hill (N.D. Okla.) and John Russell (N.D. Okla.). Both nominees are now eligible for a full committee vote.

On Thursday, the Committee was scheduled to hold a mark up for several pieces of business, but the meeting was canceled as the Senate adjourned Wednesday evening after funding the government. First, the Committee was set to revote on Judge Eumi Lee (N.D. Cal.) and Magistrate Judge Mustafa Kasubhai (D. Or.) after the Senate Parliamentarian ruled the Committee’s vote last week was against committee rules. Also, the Committee was scheduled to vote on the authorization for subpoenas relating to the Supreme Court ethics. Both sets of votes will now have to wait until after the holiday.

This week the White House announced the next slate of judicial nominees. The slate contained 5 Article III nominees: Nicole Berner (4th Cir.), Adeel Mangi (3d Cir.), Judge Amy Baggio (D. Or.), Judge Cristal Brisco (N.D. Ind.), and Judge Gretchen Lund (N.D. Ind.). This slate continued the White House’s trend of trying to diversify the federal bench. If confirmed, Berner would be the first openly LBGTQ+ person to serve on the Fourth Circuit, and Mangi would be the first Muslim American to serve on any circuit court.

As of November 16, there are 93 Article III vacancies, 64 of which are current. Once the remaining nominees are officially nominated, there will be 39 pending nominees: 19 waiting for floor votes, 7 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 13 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 154 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate made good progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, the Senate has confirmed 5 Article III nominees: Judge Kenly Kato (C.D. Cal.) in a 51-46 vote, Julia Kobick (D. Mass.) in a 52-46 vote, Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes (E.D.N.Y.) in a 51-48 vote, Brandy McMillion (E.D. Mich.) in a 53-42 vote, and Mónica Ramírez Almadani (C.D. Cal.) in a 51-44 vote. Notably, Kobick was the 150th Article III confirmation of this administration and the 100th woman confirmed to the federal bench during this administration. Even after these confirmations, there are still 22 Article III nominees on the floor.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business meeting where it was successfully able to advance two judicial nominees out of committee: Judge Eumi Lee (N.D. Cal.) and Magistrate Judge Mustafa Kasubhai (D. Or.). The Committee was also scheduled to vote on the authorization for subpoenas relating to the Supreme Court ethics investigation, but gaveled out before voting on them.

As of November 9, there are 94 Article III vacancies, 64 of which are current. Once the remaining nominee is officially nominated, there will be 35 pending nominees: 22 waiting for floor votes, 3 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 10 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 153 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

With the Senate primarily focused on appropriations and military promotions, little progress was made on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, the Senate confirmed only 1 Article III nominee: Magistrate Judge Matthew Maddox (D. Md.) in a 55-42 vote.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business meeting where it was unable to advance any judicial nominees out of committee. The Committee was set to vote on Judge Eumi Lee (N.D. Cal.) and Magistrate Judge Mustafa Kasubhai (D. Or.), but due to prolonged speeches from the Republican members of the committee and later attendance issues the votes were unable to occur.

Also this week, the White House announced the next slate of judicial nominees. The slate had 5 Article III nominees: Magistrate Judge Jacquelyn Austin (D.S.C.), Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra (S.D. Fla.), Magistrate Judge Melissa Damian (S.D. Fla.), David Leibowitz (S.D. Fla.), and Magistrate Judge Julie Sneed (M.D. Fla.). This slate continues this administration’s goal of diversifying the federal bench, as a majority of the new nominees are women of color.

As of November 2, there are 98 Article III vacancies, 68 of which are current. Once the remaining nominees are officially nominated, there will be 40 pending nominees: 25 waiting for floor votes, 5 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 10 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 148 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

Due to a number of complicating factors facing the Senate, the Senate made virtually no progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, the Senate has not confirmed any Article III nominees. After Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, there are now 26 Article III nominees on the Senate floor awaiting cloture and confirmation votes.

The current administration is behind its predecessor in terms of the number of Article III confirmations, and risks falling behind further. The Biden-Harris Administration is at 147 Article III confirmations as of the morning of October 26. The Trump Administration was at 157 Article III confirmations through October 2019, and 187 Article III confirmations through the third year of the administration.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business meeting where it advanced 4 Article III nominees to the floor: Magistrate Judge John Kazen (S.D. Tex.), Micah Smith (D. Haw.), Judge Shanlyn Park (D. Haw.), and Jamel Semper (D.N.J.). These nominees add to the growing backlog on the Senate floor.

As of October 26, there are 95 Article III vacancies, 67 of which are current. Once the remaining nominee is officially nominated, there will be 36 pending nominees: 26 waiting for floor votes, 2 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 8 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 147 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.